Anything For You
by Chaotic Tai
Summary: A meeting in the dead of night is misinterpreted by a viewer, and now the two involved must either fake it, or come clean about why they were there. Rated for later chapters - Back into writing!
1. Chapter 1

Tai: My dear readers, this is probably only the second chaptered story I'm going have going. Right now it's not that interesting, but I will be maknig it more interesting.

Disclaimer: Me no own

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Kiba let out a sleepy yawn, walking drowsily through the forests surrounding Konoha. "Akamaru, why exactly did you drag me out here at three in the morning?" the young Inuzuka growled, glaring at the enormous white canine in front of him. The large white canine glared at him to be silent, and the brunette let out another sigh, following his canine's wishes.

The duo continued to trek through the woods, dodging trees and soon the unmistakable sound of water crashing off rocks met his ears, the fresh clean scent of pure water meeting his nose. 'Why would Akamaru bring me out here at such a time?' he wondered silently, still following the canine's wishes to remain silent.

The sudden disturbance of water being pushed in the opposite direction to its natural flow reached his ears, and he froze. "Akamaru," he hissed as quietly as he could, making the dog stop and look at him, "who else is out here?"

Both males sniffed the air, attempting to pick up the scent of the other person or creature in the area. Neither could find one anywhere close by, making the fanged boy assume their current scent was being masked by the freshness of the area, and they'd taken a completely separate path to reach there.

With his curiosity peaked, Kiba wordlessly continued through the forest, unaware that his companion had stopped several steps before. The young brunette slipped between the thickening tree trunks and dodged all plant life that would rustle as he made his way, the scent of the freshwater becoming clearer and stronger as he neared his target.

A branch caught on his black jacket, and he let out a small growl, undoing the front of it and slipping the cloth off his well-toned tan body. Attempting to separate branch and material would result in more noise than he needed to cause, and there was no way he'd let whoever it was know he was there, so he continued on, nothing but his usual mesh shirt covering his torso. He needed to know who the other person was, friend or foe, and if it was an enemy he needed the upper hand to attack.

A glimpse of moonlight reflected on a pool of crystalline water made him smirk, just metres away was the pool of water and whoever the other creature was. Only a thin grove of trees blocked him from the other, and he waited silently, watching the water for any trace of the other. 'I know there's someone there, I just want to know who.' Kiba thought, his golden orbs darting around the open area as he searched for another sign of life.

His fangs and eyes sparkled in the moonlight, coupled with his blood red fangs and messy short hair they gave him the look of a wild animal, and that was one of the things he enjoyed. A sliver of white reflected the moonlight, as the bare torso of a male emerged from the water, coffee black strands covering his upper back and shoulders. 'Is…is that Neji?' he pondered with a frown, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

The Hyuuga jounin fully emerged from the water, revealing the older boy to only be in a pair of black shorts. As expected from a high level ninja, he felt himself being watched and activated his bloodline trait, making the Inuzuka sigh. He stood fully and walked out into the open area, knowing that there was no way he could hide from the Hyuuga's pale eyes.

"Kiba, what are you doing out here?" the Hyuuga questioned, deactivating the doujutsu as the golden-eyed male approached him. "I'm not sure. Akamaru lead me out here for some reason, but I don't know what it was." The younger, tan male sighed, looking around. "But I don't know where he's gone." As if on que the large white canine bounded out of the woods, immediately pouncing on the Hyuuga and forcing him to the ground.

"What the hell?" the prodigy stated, and Kiba was slightly thankful for his dogs large size as he laughed silently, attempting to keep his laughter at bay. "Kiba, get him off me now!" the Hyuuga called, still pinned beneath the enormous canine. The Inuzuka blinked at the order, walking around to look at the older boy. "He's not that heavy, hell I can pick him up on my own."

"Inuzuka, remove your dog, now." The older snarled, squirming beneath the canine uncomfortably as he attempted to push him off. "Fine, fine." Kiba sighed, approaching the large dog only for Akamaru to bound off towards the water, leaving Neji alone. Frowning, the Inuzuka offered a hand to help the other up, missing the slightly sound of movement behind him. With warning, Kiba was pushed down on top of the Hyuuga, his head making contact with the older male's bare chest.

The sudden contact made Neji gasp and Kiba grunt, although with their current positions they were probably the worst noises they could've made. Both were still wearing pants, or in Neji's case boxers, but that didn't mean they weren't up to something. Akamaru barked loudly, followed by a squeal of delight from the trees. "Wait until I tell Ino!" the all too familiar female voice purred, before the sounds of crashing through the forest made both share a look.

"Shit."


	2. Chapter 2

Tai: It's short, it's not that great, but its an update. Don't complain too much about it, at least you know why they're out there...and a few other fun things. Yes...well I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this story, if not then read carefully

Disclaimer: Don't own.

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"Shit."

"That was Sakura, wasn't it?" Kiba asked, pressing his hands against the ground and pushing himself up. Neji had activated his bloodline trait fairly quickly after the first noise, and nodded his response. "And from her reaction, she thinks we're a couple."

"I suppose our situation does seem rather unusual. What are you doing out here anyway? The Inuzuka questioned, helping the Hyuuga up. "I was out here training." The white-eyed boy stated. "Underwater your movements are slowed to a point that running is more like walking. Lee uses weights to increase his speed, I use the water."

"You were attempting to move at normal speed under the water? That's basically how I've learnt to increase the speed of Gatsuga. There's a deeper lake about four miles from here that's better for that sort of training." Kiba shrugged. "But by now Sakura will be halfway to town, catching her and explaining what we're really doing out here and getting her to believe us is near impossible. Once she tells Ino, that's it. So, do we go with her misinterpretation or explain to everyone why we were here?"

"What are you doing out here anyway, Inuzuka?" Neji snapped, pulling on his shirt. "And why aren't you wearing a shirt?" "Akamaru lead me out here, my jacket got caught on a branch halfway and he took off at a run. Middle of the night isn't the most fun time to try and find a dog, even one as big as him, so I slipped out of it and chased him. Enough of that, what do we do about Sakura?" Kiba growled again, making the elder nod.

"She thinks we're a couple, and its unlikely anyone will believe we just happened to be in the same area during the dead of night, training and attempting to catch Akamaru." With his clothes on fully, Neji dropped to sit, Kiba following suit. "Usually the lie is more believable than the truth. If we agree with what Sakura says, there's less trouble."

"But once they all know, they will ask. What do we tell them then?" Kiba sighed. "Either way they'll ask questions. If we tell the truth, it'll be seen as a lie to hide what Sakura thinks she saw, but if we lie they'll ask questions that there are no answers to. That and they'll expect that they'll see more of a relationship now that they know."

Neji rubbed his temples, neither male knowing just how to deal with the situation. "We'll have to fake it. I'm a jounin, so I can request missions away when our teams might be used together. Relationships would interfere with missions, so it'd make it more believable. We'll probably have to go out for dinner at least once too."

"One more thing – details. It'll be more believable if there's details that are convincing." Kiba agreed. "How long have you been coming out here alone?" "Four months." The Hyuuga replied. "Akamaru started wanting out at night about 3 months ago, so three and a half months should be realistic enough."

Neji nodded stiffly, it wasn't usually the type of thing he thought about, especially not with another guy. However, things had changed and that was the situation they'd been forced into, so both ninja had to deal with it.

Standing, the usually energetic Inuzuka turned to leave, Akamaru by his side. "Oh, and if anyone asks I top." Flashing his fangs, the tan boy darted into the trees to find his jacket, leaving a growling Hyuuga behind him. _"Faking a relationship with the guy you have a crush on, nice going. And you said me taking you out most nights was a bad thing."_

"He seems less than happy about it Akamaru. But if it's what he thinks is the best course of action, then I'll go along with it." Finding the black cloth he'd abandoned, he swiftly untangled it from the tree branch and slipped it on once again, looking down at Akamaru.

"_So what, you're saying I should've just let you continue to lust after him silently and hope he'd notice you like him? He's a Hyuuga; they're not as smart as they think they are. My way works much quicker, and who knows, maybe Mr Prodigy will like having you as a fake boyfriend and actually ask you out. I'm sure you'll have loads of fun together."_

"Shut it, Akamaru." Kiba growled, knowing deep down the large canine was telling the truth.

Meanwhile Neji was still back at the lake, attempting to make himself believe the lie enough that when saying it, people wouldn't see it as a blatant lie. 'First thing in the morning I'll go and request a solo mission from Tsunade. Kiba can deal with the questions for now.'

The Hyuuga prodigy sighed, finally getting to his feet and slipping into the woods. 'I stay and answer questions, or go on a mission and leave it to the Inuzuka. I'm sure he can come up with answers more easily than me, he's probably been told more than enough about sex by his clan.'

His mind made up, Neji set his pale lilac eyes on the Hyuuga compound and noted where the guards were, managing to slip into the compound with their notice, and into his room. Sleep wasn't something he wanted at the moment, as he began to dig through his draws and bag for his usual equipment, preparing for a mission he may not end up with.

He needed something, anything, to get his mind off the Inuzuka, and their predicament. 'Oh come on, you know you wanted it. You could moved the second you saw the dog. You stayed still so this predicament that you _don't_want is your fault. Deal with it like a man.'

'…I suppose. Hell, may I'll get lucky and the Inuzuka will actually fall for me.'

'Can I suggest one thing?'

'What?'

'Stop talking to yourself in your mind. If you told anyone about this, they'd class you as insane.'

'Point taken.'

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Tai: Yea...I love making Neji talk to himself, you should check out To Be Alone, that kind of talk-to-self conversation is fun. Review please 


	3. Chapter 3

**Tai: **Ookay so first things first; SORRY SORRY SORRY!

It has taken me far too long to continue this story, and I really shouldn't have started on a sequel to To Be Alone (called Tied to You) before updating this, but I did, and then I realised I had another Kiba/Neji story I hadn't finished and yea….But yay for you! You get an update! Also that's probably enough shameless plugging for my other story...

I realise there are people who probably started reading this way back when and don't want to read it anymore, so feel free to just ignore the updates/emails you'll get about new chapters. However, I will be finishing this story! Yup, celebrate, oh and give me reviews, I luff reviews ^_^

Anyway, my writing skills I believe have improved, and while the first two chapters probably barely scraped 2000words combined, that's about what I'm managing per chapter for stories now. Also since I was feeling rather guilty about not updating in so long, you get an extra long chapter.

Anyway, enough out of me; onto the chapter!

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The ebony haired male had managed to get some sleep through the night, but was up at the crack of dawn regardless and headed straight for the Hokage's tower. The blonde ninja was always at work early, and the Hyuuga didn't want to risk running into anyone Sakura may have told just yet. While it had been the middle of the night and the pink haired woman was unlikely to have had the chance to share her 'information', the lilac eyed male didn't want to take the chance.

Reaching the familiar circular building, he activated his Byakugan to check for any signs of life. A sigh of relief escaped the pale male as he headed straight for the top floor, glad to see the woman was indeed in her office. Tapping on the door swiftly, the slender male waited for a response.

"Enter."

Stepping into the spacious office, Neji chose his words carefully. "Hokage-sama, I was wondering if I could request a solo mission."

The blonde smiled at the request. "Neji, I was about to send for you. I just received a request for help outside of the village that would suit your skills." Holding the scroll out to the male, she watched him carefully. "It may take a few days."

Glancing over the request, the black haired male nodded. "I'll leave right away."

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The brunet rolled over for the umpteenth time that evening, or was that chirping from outside indicating it was morning now? The male growled and pulled a pillow over his head to block out the noise; he was exhausted but sleep wouldn't claim him. Somehow, while he'd been following his partner out through the village, his bed had been replaced with one that looked identical but was completely uncomfortable. He'd spent the night tossing and turning in an attempt to find a snug spot between the blankets, to no avail.

The fact that he was going to be quizzed the next morning by his friends about a non-existent relationship with a certain Hyuuga prodigy probably didn't help any.

Growling, the tanned teen glanced over at his partner, who was happily sleeping, curled up on the floor alongside his bed. Glaring at the canine, he threw a pillow at the dog, waking him. "Why did you have to do that Akamaru?"

Akamaru looked at him sleepily, not bothering to answer before his massive head dropped back down atop his paws, intent on getting a few more minutes sleep. They'd been through the same conversation several times on the walk home, and the dog was bored of it. His master knew why he'd done it; he was the heir to the clan and would soon be the alpha male of their pack-like family.

Kiba sighed as he watched the canine, the words from only a few hours ago resurfacing in his mind. '"Alpha's don't pine for the affection of others; others pine for an alpha's affection", huh Akamaru? Sometimes you can't help it; Neji wouldn't pine after anyone.' Finally giving up on sleep, Kiba decided he may as well have a shower and sort out his mind for the coming interrogation.

Yawning as he walked to the bathroom, he silently cursed. 'Damn you Neji; I'll need help dealing with all their question and you're escaping on a mission.' Yawning again, he stopped at the bathroom door. 'And coffee. I'll need lots and lots of coffee.'

Although he was certain he was the only one awake, the tanned male tapped gently on the bathroom door, force of habit causing him to check if the room was occupied before stepping inside and locking the door. Turning the shower on, he glanced in the mirror to check how tired he actually looked and grinned briefly, glad his tanned skin hid the dark rings that had formed under his eyes to all but the closest inspections. The dark red fangs on his cheeks probably helped just as much, their bright colour drawing more attention than his eyes ever would.

With steam already starting to fill the room, he pulled off his pants and stepped into the spray of hot water, enjoying the refreshing feel as it soaked his short hair and trickled down his back. He stood still and enjoyed the warmth, letting it wash away all the horrible thoughts he'd been having. 'I suppose it won't be too bad; maybe Akamaru's right and I can use this fake relationship to get him to fall for me.'

Shaking the thought from his head, the Inuzuka had a quick wash, ensuring the small scratches on his arms where thistles had caught his skin were clean and most of the dried blood gone. He could tell the warm water was slowly bringing out the slight bruises on his shoulders from where a massive canine had decided to place his paws moments before he landed on top of Neji. 'That probably didn't help my inability to sleep any.'

Shutting off the water he grabbed a towel and used it to dry himself quickly before wrapping around his lower half. Checking he hadn't managed to splash water all over the bathroom, Kiba gathered his pyjama pants and returned to his room. His partner was still slumbering on the floor where Kiba had left him, and the golden eyed male sighed. "At least one of us can sleep."

Going through his draws he grabbed a set of clothes and pulled them on quickly, swiftly tying his forehead protector into place before checking his appearance. Satisfied that he looked the same as he always did, Kiba cast another glance at his best friend. "Come on Akamaru, we may as well have breakfast and get some training in before Sakura tracks me down."

Akamaru yawned at the suggestion but stood none the less and stretched, lazily following his master through the winding hallways toward the kitchen. The rest of the house was still silent, and Kiba intended to let it stay that way, quickly making something to eat for both himself and the canine. It had become a bit of a routine; the Inuzuka would wake up after managing a few hours' sleep at most and wake his partner for breakfast and training.

After the first two mornings of getting up early, Akamaru had opted to slink off to bed a few hours earlier than his master to ensure he wasn't too tired. In fact, his midnight walks were an attempt to tire the brunet out so the male would need to rest; those were the nights when Kiba managed sleep. Luckily for the canine, the tanned male had realised this himself and would occasionally go out alone at night, not long before Akamaru intended to drag him out.

Kiba's tossing and turning last night hadn't surprised the dog; he probably would've slept some if Akamaru hadn't purposely forced the pair together physically. The white furred canine was feeling somewhat guilty, but something needed to change. The Inuzuka's insomnia had started, from what Akamaru could tell, about the time he realised he was developing feelings for Neji.

It didn't take a Hyuuga genius to join a couple of dots; his master was having trouble sleeping and had recently discovered feelings for the Hyuuga. It followed then, in the canine's mind at least, that the root cause of the male's insomnia was difficulty dealing with how to react about his new emotions.

"Akamaru come on!" Kiba called back to the dog; already well ahead of his partner. "I still want to get some training in this morning."

"_Coming Kiba. Just waking up properly first." _The canine barked back, earning a sigh from his master.

"Fair enough; I'll meet you there then." Pausing briefly to glance back at his dog who was mid-stretch, the Inuzuka grinned and took off into the trees, pondering what sort of training would be the best option. He kept running as he thought, stopping when he came to a clearing.

A rather familiar clearing, Kiba realised, glancing around the area. He was at the edge of the very same lake where he'd encountered Neji the night before. A faint blush crept to his cheeks at the memory of the pale, slender, half naked teen lifting himself from the water…

The brunet frowned at the memory, wondering if he was remembering correctly. Most of the lakes did become very deep, but they sloped into the depth rather than dropping straight into it, which his recollection was indicating it did. Turning back to the trees to wait for Akamaru, he pondered the layout of the area and tried to get his bearings.

"_Kiba? Why are we back here?"_ Akamaru barked curiously, looking up at the teen. _"This is probably the first place Sakura will lead Ino and whoever else to in an attempt to find you and Neji."_

"I don't know, I didn't realise I was headed this way until I already here." Kiba responded, kneeling down next to the water. "Akamaru, do you remember what Neji did to get out of the lake?"

"_Not particularly, why do you ask?" _his ears lifted slightly at a faint noise, but the canine kept his attention on his master, already knowing the male had probably heard the same.

Turning back in the direction of the sound, Kiba listened quietly for any other indications that someone was approaching. "Just curious if I was remembering it right." Rolling up one sleeve, he dropped to his knees and plunged it into the cold water until his entire forearm was submerged. Kiba and Akamaru both turned their attention toward the trees; the sounds of conversation were making their way through the thick undergrowth, and the teen sighed.

"Guess I won't get a chance to check just how deep the water is right now." He muttered, returning to his feet. "That sounds like Sakura…"

"_And Ino…and Shikamaru?" _the white canine sniffed the air curiously to confirm his suspicions; it definitely sounded like the Nara's footsteps following the two chattering girls, and the scents caught in the wind agreed, though it wasn't just the trio. _"Heads up Kiba; it seems like Sakura brought reinforcements."_

"What reinforcements?" the Inuzuka questioned, sniffing the air himself. "Oh no…"

"_I have to admit I didn't see this coming."_ Akamaru barked, fully turned toward the surrounding trees.

"Come on; I still want to get some training in." Kiba stated quickly, taking off into the trees and back the way he'd come. Akamaru stayed hot on his heels, intent on keeping up with his partner.

It only took a few bounds for him to catch up, the Inuzuka pair soon running side by side around the outskirts of the village. _"How do you think she managed to get them all awake this early?"_

"She probably went around everyone's houses first thing this morning and told them she'd discovered a scandal." Kiba sighed, stopping briefly to decide where to head. "Hinata's with them, so Neji must've already left. Otherwise she'd probably be talking to him about this."

"_She's probably still watching; regardless of where we stop they're going to follow and ask questions." _Akamaru stated, looking up at his partner. _"We won't get much training done."_

"Not unless we just go for a run and treat avoiding them as training." The golden eyed male grinned, looking at his best friend. "How about it?"

The canine's tail started beating in anticipation. _"Sounds like a plan; are we staying together?"_

The wolfish grin crept onto the Inuzuka's lips, a menacing sight made terrifying by the red markings on each cheek. "Of course; not much of a training session if we split up." Taking off once more, both Inuzuka's sniffed the air to ensure the group following them hadn't moved to try and surround them. Taking everyone on a run around the village would be fun, for the tanned teen at least.

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"There's no way those two are together! I mean they're both gay, so it's not a complete impossibility, but surely someone would've noticed _some_ sort of change between the two of them." The blonde woman argued, walking alongside her childhood friend through the village. The pink haired woman had knocked on her door not long past sunrise, excitedly informing her of something she'd seen in the middle of the night.

Sakura looked at her for a moment before stopping. "Oh so you think I'm making it up?"

"It was the middle of the night Sakura; you probably dreamt it." Ino agreed, glancing back at her two teammates for some sort of agreement. She avoided glaring at the pair as they quickly involved a blonde male in their conversation, all three men unwilling to be dragged into the conversation.

"Well the only people not currently with us are Kiba and Neji's teams, which happens to include Neji's cousin." The green eyed woman countered, continuing toward their next destination; Lee's house. "If there's something between them they might've noticed something."

The blonde sighed at the comment. "I still think you're wrong."

Lee's door finally within sight, Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji slipped past the two women, half to retrieve the energetic black haired male, half to try and convince the male to lock his door and let them all hide. They all knew the former was the more likely outcome and the blonde rapped on the door, unsurprised when it was answered quickly.

"Naruto! And Shikamaru and Choji! Are the three of you out capturing the full vigour of the day with some early training?" the green clad male asked, his usual enthusiasm and energy present even at the early hour.

"Not quite." Shikamaru sighed, turning to stand sideways. "Sakura saw Kiba and Neji together last night, she's convinced there's something going on between them."

"We're getting everyone together so we can go and question them." Naruto finished, earning a thoughtful look from the male.

"Neji and Kiba…they're two very different personalities, but they do say opposites attract!" Lee grinned, looking towards the girls. "Or with Kiba's energy he and Neji could've been honing their already amazing skills as ninja!"

"What I saw and heard last night definitely didn't seem like training." Sakura stated, looking at the group. "We still have Tenten and Shino to collect before we head over to the Hyuuga compound to see Hinata and Neji."

Nodding, the new addition quickly gathered what he needed and joined the group outside, walking behind the pinkette and blonde as they headed for Tenten's house. "Lee you don't know anything that would disagree with what Sakura saw, do you?" Choji asked quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the two women.

Lee shook his head. "On the contrary, what I know would seem to agree with it."

"Pity; I was looking forward to the possibility of going back to bed." Shikamaru sighed, though the other black haired male's statement did pique his interest. "What do you know that agrees with it?"

"The last couple of months Neji has looked somewhat more tired, but not to the point that it affects his skills as a ninja." The black eyed male stated, earning a couple of raised eyebrows from the other males. "Tenten and I both noticed, and from what we could determine he was going out at night to hone his skills."

"Or have some private time with Kiba if we believe Sakura." Naruto muttered, earning nods from the remaining three males. The girls had already reached Tenten's door and it was quickly obvious she was eager to join the pair with the interrogation of her teammate and his possible boyfriend. All four males sighed, shaking their heads.

"It might explain Kiba's recent fatigue." A heavily clothed male stated, looking at the four as they all jumped, turning to the male. None of the group had heard the insect wielding shinobi join them, but they weren't all that surprised that he had.

"Has he been going out at night as well?" Choji asked, receiving a nod from the largely silent male. The girls would be deeply disappointed if Neji and Kiba weren't actually a couple, but it was quickly becoming obvious the idea had some supporting evidence.

"So where are we headed next?" Tenten asked the duo, glancing back at the males who were still chattering quietly amongst themselves. "It looks like the only ones not here are Neji, Kiba and Hinata."

The statement made both females frowned and they followed her gaze back to the males, surprised to see that she was right. "When did Shino join them?"

"Probably while the three of us were talking." Sakura reasoned, looking at the group of males. "Looks like it's time to head to the Hyuuga compound and get some answers from Neji."

Ino nodded in agreement, while the brunette thought carefully. "I wouldn't be surprised if Neji isn't home." She informed the pair, surprising both girls. "I mean he's rather private about things, so he'll probably do everything he can to avoid having to answer questions about what you saw."

"She's right Sakura. After all it was _Neji _and _Kiba. _I doubt you got there, saw them and got away without either of them picking up you were there." The blonde agreed, the girls not bothering to wait for the quintet to catch up with them as they headed for the Hyuuga compound.

"You're probably right on that one, but I'm pretty sure Kiba wouldn't have stayed on top of Neji if either of them had picked up I was approaching." The pinkette agreed. "I probably would've gotten out of there without them noticing if I hadn't been so loud when I left."

Reaching what should be their final destination, they were stopped from entering the compound by a pair of branch family Hyuugas, the pair clearly taking their job of clan security very seriously. "Hinata-sama is having breakfast, and Neji left on a mission half an hour ago." The taller of the two Hyuugas informed the trio, causing the women to share a glance.

"Could you please let Hinata know we'd like to talk to her? We're more than happy to wait." Tenten smiled, more than used to dealing with the early morning guards. One of the males nodded and headed off into the maze of buildings, while the brunette led the group off to the side of the gate.

"They're always like that in the mornings." She informed the girls. "I asked Neji about it but he wouldn't explain why they had guards around the compound until an hour after sunrise. In fact, all he told me was that speaking to them politely gets a better result than anything else."

"Fair enough; the last thing you'd want after being up all night is to deal with someone yelling at you just before you go to bed." Ino sighed, dropping to sit in the shade of the trees. "So we know for certain that they heard you, Sakura, or Neji saw you at least. That or it's a major coincidence that he's gone on a mission alone."

The pink haired teen thought for a moment, glancing back at the males. "I guess that means we need to track down Kiba and ask him, but I'm not sure where to start. If Neji's gone on a mission there's no guarantee Kiba will be home, but it's unlikely he's on a mission too."

"We could start looking back where you saw them last night." Tenten suggested, glancing towards the gate. "Once Hinata's with us we could head in that direction anyway, and have her check if anyone's there. She and Shino might have an idea where Kiba is anyway, he is their teammate."

Standing as soon as she spotted the Hyuuga heiress appear at edge of one of the buildings within the compound, the brunette walked over to the Hyuugas and thanked them for their help. Hinata seemed concerned by the size of the group and quickly hurried over to them, all nine bunching together as they headed somewhere slightly more private.

"Has something happened?" Hinata asked softly, looking at the rest of the group.

Picking up on her concerned tone, Sakura decided to answer before one of the boys said something stupid and panicked her. "It's nothing bad; in fact it might be really good. Last night I was going for a walk because I couldn't sleep and I saw Neji and Kiba together."

"Together how?" Shikamaru questioned, looking at the teen. Although he'd been one of the first to join the two women on their 'mission', they hadn't really explained anything to him.

"They were both shirtless, and Kiba was on top of Neji." Ino supplied, earning a blush from both Tenten and Hinata who hadn't heard the information yet. "Sakura said she also hear a bit of a grunt and a moan from them."

The comment caused blushes to sneak onto both Shikamaru and Naruto's cheeks, their eyes widening slightly. Choji and Lee managed to hide their reactions a little more subtly, but only barely, while Shino was left being the only member of the group that didn't appear to react to the news at all.

"So I thought it might be a good idea to ask them what was going on rather than just _assuming_ they were together, because it's only fair." Sakura finished, looking at the group. "The Hyuugas at the gate told us Neji's gone on a mission, so we need to find Kiba, and I thought our best starting point might be where I saw them last night."

"They'll probably avoid that spot like the plague now, but it's as good a starting place as any." Shikamaru agreed, "Once we're close enough, Hinata can use her Byakugan to see if he's there or not, rather than us needing to go all the way there."

"I can think of a couple of places he might've gone..." Hinata mumbled, Shino nodding in agreement.

With their initial plan sorted they headed out, Sakura leading the way with all three of the other girls sticking close to her, so they could discuss the little they did know. It didn't take long for the teammates of the two males concerned to start discussing things that had seemed somewhat off recently.

"So Kiba's been a little tired at training too?" Tenten confirmed, earning a nod from the blue haired teen. "How long for?"

"I think maybe a month…" the Hyuuga replied cautiously. "It could've been longer and it took us that long to notice a change, maybe?"

The brunette nodded, thinking back to when she'd first noticed the change in Neji. "I only noticed with Neji when he started getting rings under his eyes." Tenten admitted, earning raised eyebrows from Sakura and Ino. "What? Neji's a very private person."

"I'm just a little surprised that's the only reason you noticed; you, him and Lee are always training hard all day if you don't have a mission." Sakura stated, leading the group into one of the many groves of trees that surrounded the village. "Didn't he fall asleep or yawn or do _something_ to indicate he was sleepy?"

"Neji meditates doesn't he?" Ino questioned, thinking of the very few times her team had trained with them. Tenten nodded, and the blonde smiled. "He can probably sleep sitting upright, so while you thought he was meditating he might've been catching up on sleep."

The pink haired girl continued on forward for several moments before stopping in a small clearing. "I'm worried; if he and Kiba have been sneaking out at night to be together, and now he's gone on a solo mission, he might get seriously hurt." She mumbled, looking forward. "We should be close enough for you to use your Byakugan, Hinata."

Activating the bloodline trait, the girl looked ahead of them to see if the Inuzuka was nearby. "He's there; Akamaru's with him….it looks like they know we're coming."

"I'm not surprised; come on boys we need to hurry up! Hinata says he's there." Sakura yelled at the males, who were slowly picking their way through the dense undergrowth.

"I think we're a bit late; they're running away…" Hinata mumbled, jumping up into the nearest tree.

Shikamaru sighed at the news, joining the Hyuuga in the tree. "I'm not surprised; I didn't expect him to make this easy for us. Which way?"

"At the moment, that way." Hinata stated, pointing left of where they had been headed. "We might want to hurry if we're going to have any hope of catching him."

"I guess it can't be helped. Tenten, Naruto you two come with me and Hinata; we'll try and catch up to him. Lee, Choji, Shino, Ino and Sakura see if you can get in front of him." Shikamaru instructed, looking back at the group. "Shino should be able to locate Kiba for you if needed; if we don't catch Kiba meet up outside Ichiraku Ramen." Without another word he took off in the direction the Hyuuga had indicated.

Although the group spent a moment wondering when they'd put the Nara in charge, they realised he was probably the most strategic mind in the group and following his instructions was the best chance they had at catching the Inuzuka. Hinata took off after the black haired male, ensuring she kept track of her brunet teammate and his canine.

It didn't take long for her to catch up with Shikamaru, the male glad that both Naruto and Tenten had followed the woman. They spread into a line, the Hyuuga watching the Inuzuka's movements carefully. "He's stopped; looks like he's trying to decide which way to go."

"Well then let's go!" Naruto grinned, bolting ahead of the other three.

Tenten sighed and looked after the blonde. "It's probably the best chance we have at catching him." Receiving a nod from the male she took off after the blonde ninja while Shikamaru stayed back with Hinata to receive her updates on what the Inuzuka was doing.

"Kiba's started moving again; Naruto and Tenten are about fifteen metres behind him." The Hyuuga informed him, causing the Nara to sigh.

"He's faster than both of them." The black haired male called back to the blue haired girl, neither increasing their speed. "Is he still going in the same direction?"

The pale eyed girl hesitated before answering. "Yes; it looks like he's picked up on the others coming up on his far left."

"We'll have to corner him to have any chance of stopping him." Shikamaru muttered, stopping suddenly. "I'll catch up shortly Hinata; I need to think."

Hinata left the Nara to his thoughts, checking quickly on the rest of the group. Tenten and Naruto had drifted off to Kiba's right but were still well behind him. Lee and Ino had split off away from the rest of their group, heading further off to the left. Choji, Sakura and Shino had stayed in a line, drifting less drastically to the left as they chased the Inuzuka.

Shikamaru had finally started moving again to catch up to the Hyuuga, a determined look set in his eyes. "What's the current situation?" She relayed the layout of the group to the Nara, and he nodded. "Lee and Ino should be able to get around in front of him if we can buy them enough time. So long as Tenten and Naruto stay to his right, and Sakura and the others stay to his left we have a shot at boxing him in."

"What's your plan once we've actually boxed him in?" the blue haired girl questioned, watching her teammate's movements. He was clearly aware of the two groups behind and either side of him, the dog ninja and his partner probably trying to formulate a way of getting free of the incoming trap.

"I'm guessing Ino's intending to use her mind body switch to take control of him long enough for us to completely surround him." Shikamaru stated, his dark eyes focused ahead of them. "While he's distracted avoiding that I'll use my shadow binding; if he fails to avoid Ino he's caught, if he avoids her I'll still catch him."

"That assumes we can surround him, doesn't it?" Hinata questioned, her gaze flickering through the members of the group. Tenten had begun speeding up and Lee was already nearing the edge of her field of vision, having left Ino behind to speed on ahead. Kiba and Akamaru were drifting slightly to the right, clearly favouring their chances of outrunning Naruto and Tenten. "He's going off to the right."

Shino had clearly picked up on the change as well as he, Sakura and Choji began curving towards them. "We'd better speed up and do likewise then."

* * *

**Tai: **All right, so I think this story has just become three times longer with the addition of this chapter. I still love reviews and, since it's been a while coming, I'm happy to take suggestions for a secondary pairing to throw into this story, or anything else you'd like to see.


	4. Chapter 4

**Tai: **Well, it's a bit of a short chapter. I start back at University soon so you _will _get updates, but they'll be slow. Rest assured I won't forget about this story again. I think I've finished Chapter 6, so you'll get at least two updates during my first term back.

Onto the chapter!

* * *

Sniffing the air the tanned male looked at his partner for confirmation of what he was picking up. The white canine nodded, and both sped up to avoid being boxed in. Two of the scents were weakening substantially and the others had spread out in an unusual pattern. Hinata and Shikamaru were directly behind him, Tenten and Naruto to his right and the remainder were on his left.

"Seems like Ino and Lee are trying to cut us off." Kiba muttered, his grin widening. "At least they're making it challenging for us." Akamaru grinned at the comment, sniffing the air cautiously. "We should be able to outrun all of them, except maybe Lee and I can't smell him anymore. He was on our left..."

They'd been running for a while, and Kiba was thankful he knew the area well enough to realise he was making a beeline toward a lake, which would effectively block him in. Changing course the Inuzuka veered to his right, dropping to all fours to utilise all of his speed in an attempt to escape the other shinobi. _"They're on the move; Tenten's sped up again." _Akamaru growled, earning a nod from his partner. _"I still can't detect Lee, and Ino's just gone out of range"_

"We should be able to outrun Tenten. Seems like the others are speeding up too…" the brunet pondered. "If we can get out past Tenten we should be free."

"_Sounds like a plan."_ The Inuzukas opted to stop their conversations as they focused on running from the group. It didn't take long before Kiba realised the brunette was making a beeline for him, intent on cutting him off. 'Time to see if I am faster than her.'

The tan male kept track of just how close Tenten was getting and he soon realised that, due to his sudden right turn, the woman would indeed catch him, or come close to it. Unless of course he sped up, but with how near he was to the other teen it would be very close. Speeding up, he was glad he'd already dropped to all fours as both male and canine raced through the trees.

"_This might be close, Kiba." _

"Ah. That's what makes it fun."

It took several minutes but sure enough brunette appeared to his right, the weapons ninja clearly half expecting to see the male as she dragged one of her scrolls out and summoned several weapons, throwing them into his path. Forced to drop to the ground, he cursed silently and kept moving, cautious of the strings the woman almost always had attached to her weapons.

He didn't stop and Tenten swore, resuming her chase as both male and canine disappeared from her sight. Naruto soon appeared at her side, the girl sighing. "He got past me."

"I'm not surprised." Shino's statement startled the pair, and they turned to see Sakura, Choji and the heavily clothed male not far behind them. "What's the plan Shikamaru?"

The Nara and Hyuuga had caught up and the group ran along behind their targets, the black haired male pondering things for a moment. "I take it you sent Ino and Lee further on ahead?" He asked the Aburame, who nodded sharply.

"I have one of my insects leading each of them; they should be moving up on his left outside of his range." Shino informed him, earning a nod from the Nara.

Hinata focused her vision on the Inuzuka and searched for any sign of the last two members of their group, extending her range to spot the pair. They were ahead of the male but out of the range Kiba could pick up scents within, allowing them to slowly get in front of him. Checking the area the Inuzuka was approaching, she frowned slightly. "There's a lake coming up on his left; Ino and Lee can are in front of him, but they're well out to his left."

Choji sighed at the news; cornering him meant that some of them would have to draw up alongside the black haired male. "So more running?" he grumbled, earning a nod from the pink haired woman. "But we've been chasing him for over an hour."

"Tenten let's go and see if we can get up next to him." Sakura suggested, the brunette nodding in agreement as they both sped up, pulling away from the rest of the group. Shino followed silently, leaving Choji and Naruto with Hinata and Shikamaru.

"This is probably our best shot." Shikamaru muttered, looking at the remainder of the group. "Spread out; we'll work under the assumption that Shino, Sakura and Tenten can draw up next to him. Naruto, can you create some shadow clones to help us out?"

Nodding, the blonde stopped briefly and used the jutsu, multiplying so there twelve of him. "Eight of you need to go and help the other three block off his escape to the left, the rest of you can help us box him in." Naruto stated, the clones dividing themselves up as needed for the task. Shikamaru nodded, and they continued at a manageable pace, Hinata informing them the Inuzuka appeared to be finally tiring after running at such a pace for so long.

The Hyuuga had extended her range out past her tanned teammate, somewhat surprised to find the blonde woman and black haired man waiting at the upper edge of the lake to block him in. "Lee and Ino are waiting for them."

"Are the others in place?"

Nodding, the Hyuuga heiress increased her speed, gaze fixed on their target; they only had one shot at this, and if the Inuzuka slipped through a gap they would all likely be too exhausted to keep chasing.

* * *

"Hell, probably overdid it a little." Kiba panted, slowing slightly. Akamaru was panting alongside him, both males tiring.

"_We've been running for an hour, and a lot of that was spent going full speed." _The white canine agreed, sniffing the air curiously. _"Ino and Lee are up ahead; looks like we're trapped."_

Kiba sighed; his partner was right they were boxed in between his friends and a lake. "Guess it's time to face them all then." The pair headed toward the lake and stopped, dropping onto the grass while waiting for his nine pursuers to drop down and finish surrounding him.

It didn't take long for all nine to appear, watching him cautiously. "Finished avoiding us, Kiba?" Sakura asked triumphantly, earning a wolfish smirk from the male.

"Ah. I think an hour of avoiding all of you is good enough training." The statement stunned most of the group, Shikamaru pondering the information.

"So you weren't running to avoid answering questions?" Ino frowned, although a quick glance to her black haired teammate told her not to drop her guard. The Inuzuka was up to something.

"I didn't say that."

A nod from the Nara was all it took, and Ino readied herself to use her Mind Body Switch, both Lee and Choji readying themselves to pin the tanned teen. The rest of the group was ready to act as a backup in the event all four missed, and they waited for the Inuzuka to move. The brunet had stayed settled on the ground, still panting along with his canine, Shikamaru watching him closely.

After several moments passed and none of the group moved, save for Kiba panting on the ground, the black haired Nara knelt and used his Shadow Binding, somewhat surprised when the Inuzuka didn't even attempt to dodge. The easy snare seemed to disappoint the rest of the group as they seated themselves around the brown haired male, though Shikamaru hadn't moved yet, keeping him bound.

Golden orbs met the familiar brown of Shikamaru's, the Nara still wondering what was going through the Inuzuka's mind. Their eyes remained locked for several moments more, the group sitting in silence glancing between the pair. "So that's it then?" The black haired male finally asked.

"That's it." Kiba confirmed, watching as the shadow joining them receded. The black haired moved forward and sat opposite the Inuzuka, nodding to Sakura so she could start questioning the brunet.

The green eyed teen seemed to ponder her questions while the group made themselves comfortable, waiting for someone to start. "Kiba…last night I saw you, shirtless, on top of Neji who was also shirtless. What_ exactly _did I interrupt?" the pinkette finally asked, drawing a sigh from the exhausted Inuzuka.

'I suppose it's time to start lying. I'm rather glad I managed to avoid them for so long so I had time to think.' Kiba thought, finally meeting the woman's gaze. "Neji and I having some time alone together. Both of us spend all day training, so we started meeting up in the evenings so we could see each other."

"That doesn't really answer her question, Kiba." Ino stated, watching the male closely. "Were you two going to….you know…out there? In the open?" Hinata turned bright red at the blonde's questioned, clearly not wanting to think about her cousin and her teammate in _that _sort of situation.

Kiba shrugged, earning a few wide eyed stares from the group. "Akamaru was meant to be keeping watch; we check the area's clear and normally don't have any issues with people walking around at that time of the night." He lied, wolfish grin returning. "It's not like we actually _stopped_ after you left, Sakura."

The girls face had gone the colour of her hair, though it seemed she wasn't the only one as the tanned teen glanced around the group. Shino seemed to be the only one not completely horrified or embarrassed by the response, though the more the Inuzuka studied his teammate, the more he realised he had reacted. He'd known the Aburame long enough to pick up on the small changes in his attitude.

"So you and Neji are together?" Shikamaru confirmed, still not fully over his surprise. "It's not just you two benefiting from the fact that you're both gay?" He received a nod from the brunette and sighed, biting his thumb gently. "I see…"

"How long have you been together?" Naruto asked curiously, grinning at the idea. "I mean Neji likes his privacy and you don't tend to share that much about your personal life; hell if Sakura hadn't seen you two last night we'd probably never know." The blonde was receiving nods of agreement from both Choji and Lee, the black haired male still blushing darkly.

"A little over three months; Akamaru and I were out for a run and I ran into him; not literally of course. We got to talking and after that happening a few times…I asked him out." Kiba mentally swore at himself for blushing, though he was inwardly hoping the pink tinge wasn't visible beneath the red fangs. He'd thought about doing just that several times after picking up the Hyuuga's scent, but better sense told him it was unlikely to end well.

"Of course; and your midnight romance couldn't be shared with anyone else! It had to be kept secret between the two of you so you both continued to sneak out at night." Lee nodded, thankfully drawing the group's attention to himself. "The power of youthful love will never cease to amaze me!"

Tenten sighed at her teammate's reaction, over at Kiba. "I can see why you didn't want to tell the rest of us."

"It seems weird to me that you'd do it out in the open if you wanted to keep your relationship a secret." Choji stated, frowning at the male. "Wouldn't it be more private to go-"

"Back to the Hyuuga clan compound, where everyone can see through walls?" Kiba finished for him, raising an eyebrow. "Or back to the Inuzuka compound, where if we managed to hide his scent getting into and out of the compound, the smell of sex and his sweat would be a tell-tale sign?"

"There aren't many places an Inuzuka and Hyuuga couple could go without drawing attention." Shino agreed, glancing over at his female teammate. The Hyuuga heiress couldn't go redder if she tried and was probably moments from passing out, something that didn't normally happen unless she was only inches away from Naruto.

Hinata's gaze dropped to her hands, the woman clearly intent on saying something. "So you're why Neji's been sneaking out at night?" She confirmed, voicing her question before looking up to meet his eye.

The golden eyed male almost hesitated in answering, the familiar pale eyes almost daring him to lie, but he'd promised another pale pair that he would. He couldn't obey both, and he sighed. "Yes; he had a feeling you or your father might noticed. He would've said something but he didn't want to worry you if you hadn't noticed." Kiba wasn't happy lying to his teammate; they were meant to trust each other and if she found out he'd lied….he didn't want to think of it. The girl seemed somewhat comforted by the news that her cousin was out for such a warm reason, putting the Inuzuka's mind at rest.

"...hiding your relationship?" Sakura asked expectantly, finally moving the conversation on from their choice of meet up location. The Inuzuka mentally swore at himself for his inattention; he'd missed the vital part of her question. He remained silent, thinking of the best way to answer when he didn't really know what she was asking.

"Continuing to hide it would probably suit Neji, I mean he doesn't like sharing more than necessary. Hell Lee and I didn't find out his father was _dead_ until his fight with Naruto at the chuunin exams." Tenten stated, the green clad male nodding his agreement.

"But it's safer for the rest of us if everyone's aware they're together." Ino countered, looking to Shikamaru for support. "Otherwise they could be sent of a mission together and have one lose focus because the other's injured."

Both females had valid points, and Shikamaru let out a slight sigh, fixing his gaze on the Inuzuka. "So what are you guys going to do, now that some of us know?"

"We didn't really talk about it last night; he told me he was going on a mission and that I should field the questions." Kiba sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't really have an issue with people knowing, so I'll leave it up to Neji."

"He's probably the one who'll be most affected by it; he's a jounin, and the easiest way to avoid you two being on a mission together is to send him off alone." The Nara stated, looking at Hinata. "It's common for him to be sent on solo missions anyway isn't it?"

"Yea…Tsunade-sama sends him out on missions frequently because he always gets good results." She stated, the news not really surprising any of them; he was considered a genius after all.

Kiba stood and looked between the four girls present, his gaze lingering on the Hyuuga female. "Nothing else you wanted to know?" Akamaru returned to his feet, looking expectantly up at the tanned teen.

Tenten met his gaze, her eyes sparkling somewhat. "Who tops?" The question renewed the blushes on the faces of most of the group, but they all watched him with interest.

"Me."

"I think we're out of questions, Kiba." Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes. "But you have to answer any new ones we think of in the future."

The wolfish smirk returned once more. "Sure; you just have to catch me first."


	5. Chapter 5

**Tai: ** Okay please don't kill me for this one, but it's technically a filler chapter. Technically. I just kind of wanted to show what Neji was up to while Kiba was telling stories. Anyway, there is sort of a reason for it. Sort of...yea...

I'm being strange, I know. I was iffy about uploading a chapter when I don't have the one I wanted ahead of this finished. Mainly because I feel lazy if I don't manage to update every now and then. I'll have chapter 8 hopefully finished before the next one comes up. Sorry about the gap between updates as well; I started back at uni a couple of weeks ago, and I need to make sure I can sort myself on the work stuff before I get back to writing. I'm getting there!

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

* * *

The coffee haired male sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly as his head continued to pound. It was already getting dark, it was raining, and things weren't getting any easier, making the male wish he'd read the request a little more closely.

While speaking with the Hokage, she'd handed him the mission scroll. While skimming over the message he'd picked out the words 'missing', 'locate' and 'several'. After accepting the mission he'd taken off immediately, passing silently behind a familiar pink haired teen as she spoke to a sleepy blonde. 'Glad I'm leaving it to Kiba; looks like they're trying to get an early start on things.'

Getting several kilometres clear of the village gate, he stopped and read the request carefully, groaning at his own impatience, although Tsunade had mentioned she was about to send for him. _"Several children from within the village of Kumogakure have gone into the surrounding forests over the past two days and failed to return. Searches of the surroundings have proven fruitless. We ask for the assistance of Konoha shinobi in our attempt to locate the missing children."_

He swore loudly, the pale eyed teen slipping the message into his bag and continued on toward his destination. Hinata would've been a better choice for the mission, or even Kiba, he did _not_ like children. Even academy students were irritating for him, but the year they became genin they suddenly stopped being the bratty little children. _Then, _and only then he could stand having conversations and doing tasks with the younger individuals.

_Children _probably indicated that the missing individuals were between five and ten years of age. _Several _meant there was a group of them he had to locate.

He swore again; the colourful language he possessed not largely spoken by the male, though he thought it fitting considering he was going to be dealing with a mob of children.

He'd left his bag back in the village, leaving him with only his tool pouch and the clothes on his back, and gone out to meet the man who'd sent the request. The pale teen was hoping for some lead on where the children had disappeared, but it seemed like luck definitely wasn't on his side. They'd disappeared after going in multiple directions, and nothing had been heard from them since. Six children were missing, and they couldn't leave it any longer.

Neji hadn't waited any longer to act; it'd taken him until lunchtime to reach the village, and sunlight was already diminishing behind some clouds, not that he really needed the light. Activating his bloodline ability he moved out into the trees directly around the village, using the kekkei genkai to slowly survey the surround area.

He started out with his Byakugan range close, taking his time to look around the area and identify any movement that caught his eye. It was continuing to get darker, though he thought nothing of it and continued it focus on the trees. Extending his vision out to his full range, he sighed. No sign of anyone just yet, forcing him to reduce his range and move onward, heading sideways to where his vision had ended out to his right.

Reaching the edge of his vision did produce some overlap, but it was necessary; he couldn't risk missing one small area while searching. It would take time to search the entire area around the village but it was his job.

That brought him back to his current predicament; he was standing out in the rain, halfway through searching the village outskirts for any sign of the missing children, and he was not happy. Cold, wet and looking for a group of six children _somewhere _around the village, the Hyuuga was not happy. He was seriously reconsidering his decision to leave discussing their non-relationship to Kiba; he liked his privacy, but he'd prefer to be talking about that to standing in the rain looking for children.

He sighed and continued his search pattern, moving once more to where his vision had stopped and looking around, submitting to a yawn that was more than slightly eager to escape. He'd been up most of the night and left Konoha at sunrise, having eaten both breakfast and lunch on the move. It was already sunset and the coffee haired male added 'hungry' to his list of complaints, about to yawn again when something moved at the corner of his vision.

Shinobi instincts jolted the tiredness from his system and he focused in on the movement, searching desperately for the exact location it had come from. Dedicating his attention to the general area, he extended his range out and sighed, finally spotting a collection of chakra networks within a cave. Neji took a moment to focus his attention on the group, counting to ensure that the entire group was there.

He was relieved to see all six group safe within the shelter, though he was concerned as to why they hadn't returned to the village. There was nothing to indicate they were being forced to remain in the cave, however dragging his vision back in to comb the area he realised the denseness of the trees. It seemed highly likely that they'd been caught out there and were unable to find a way back into the village through the trees.

The Hyuuga considered his options; he was soaked through to the bone, it was dark, still raining and he wanted dinner, but he'd located the children. It was unlikely he could get the group back to the village easily in this weather, and at least two of the group had been missing for two days, so they were likely hungry. 'I'll take them something to eat, make sure they're all right and stay with them.' The Hyuuga decided, heading back into town.

Neji knew he couldn't leave the group out there alone; the oldest was only eight years old and unlikely to be mature enough to look after a group of kids his own age. Reaching the room he was booked into, the slender male headed straight for the bathroom and turned on the shower, glad when the room quickly filled with steam.

Stripping off his soaked shirt, Neji quickly squeezed as much of the excess water as he could from the white cloth before doing likewise with his dark pants and boxers. He'd never been so glad of packing a complete change of clothes; he normally deemed it unnecessary to carry so much clothing. His eagerness to leave prompted him to pack extra, simply so he could have a hot shower and put some clean, dry clothes on.

Pulling off his forehead protector, he glanced over his reflection and sighed; two large bruises on his chest seemed black against his pale skin, a gift courtesy of his crushes' pet. Shaking his head quickly, he stepped under the hot spray, warming up and washing himself quickly. The Hyuuga had no time for such thoughts; he had a mission to complete.

Shutting off the water he grabbed a towel, the pale eyes slipping closed as he buried his face into it; now was definitely not time to be thinking about the tanned Inuzuka. The lies Kiba had undoubtedly told about the two of them and their supposed nightly activities, explaining away the pair of them being shirtless and the Inuzuka on top of him.

Shaking his head he dressed quickly, grabbed his waterproof coat and ensured he had everything he'd need to survive a night in a cave. Hanging the wet clothing up in the bathroom he headed out once more, gathering some food for himself and the kids. With the bag of supplies slung over one shoulder, he activated his Byakugan and relocated the cave, bounding through the treetops toward it. No light reached his eyes from within the cave and he sighed; this would be an interesting night.

When he finally reached the cave he watched carefully, noting that the children had huddled at the back of the opening in the mountain for warmth and, he assumed, safety. Flicking on his torch he shone it toward the floor of the cave, cautiously entering. Finally one of the group stood and headed toward him, looking up at him curiously.

'Gods I wish someone else were doing this.' Despite the light from the flashlight Neji kept his Byakugan active, watching the kid thoughtfully. "Are you one of the kids from Kumo?" The shorter male nodded but remained silent, causing the teen to sigh and deactivate his bloodline trait. "My name is Neji, I'm a shinobi from Konoha. I was sent to find you all and make sure you got home safely."

The words seemed to relax the male, who turned back to the rest of the group. "He's a ninja come to take us home." He grinned happily, grasping the Hyuuga's wrist and tugging him further into the cave.

It only took a few moments for the group to warm up to him once they realised he had food, the group gathering closer to the older male happily chatting away. He handed out food out to the group and made a small fire for warmth, glad to finally have light in the area without needing to steady it himself. The Hyuuga settled himself near the fire for warmth and started devouring his own dinner, silently listening to the group.

"Mister ninja, what's wrong with your eyes?" one of the girls questioned, staring up at him. His full attention turned to the girl as he tried to think of the best way to answer her. 'Nothing' probably wasn't going to be an acceptable answer for these kids; his eyes were almost completely white after all. Within Konoha no child bothered asking; they knew about the Hyuugas and their unusual eyes, but it wasn't such common knowledge outside the village.

Deciding he wasn't going to correct her and try get them to call him by name, he sighed. "Nothing really; they just look a bit strange." Neji stated, almost cringing as a second girl looked up at him curiously.

"Why?"

He looked between the pair of young females, holding back a sigh; this wasn't going to be a short conversation, particularly considering the four boys had also taken an interest in the topic. "It's a family trait; my father and mothers eyes both look like mine."

"Can you see?" The girl questioned, earning a raised eyebrow from the male.

"Yes."

"In colour?" the smallest of the group questioned, his eyes fixed on the Hyuuga's pale ones.

"Yes."

"Why were the veins around your eyes sticking out in that weird way earlier?" the oldest of the group questioned, clearly remembering the unusual look from when he'd first entered the cave.

This time Neji couldn't help himself, sighing at the question. "I have a bloodline trait that I can turn on and off, and it allows me to see different things to normal people. When it's turned on that happens."

"Why?"

Neji held back a yawn, looking at the back of the cave. "Increased blood and chakra flow to my eyes."

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He blinked at the question; he'd never thought about it before; it was his kekkei genkai and he'd used it for years. He doubted any Hyuuga thought about the fact that the small physical change didn't hurt. Finally shrugging, he answered. "It's just how my body is."

"What kind of different things?" the oldest of the group was definitely curious about his eyes, and the coffee haired male bit back another yawn.

"I can see inside people and look at their chakra networks and look in more directions than most people without turning my head." Looking around the group he spotted one of the children yawning and he sighed as his own escaped. "All of you need to get some sleep."

The children thankfully agreed and curled up where they were next to the fire, Neji standing to stretch briefly. His better judgement stopped him from simply settling down with the group and sleeping alongside them, the Hyuuga instead heading back to the mouth of the cave and activating his Byakugan to check the area. He was unsurprised to see no signs of life directly around them, and finally settled down for some sleep.

Neji had barely laid down when he dropped off to sleep, curling up tightly near the fire and finally resting.

* * *

"Mister ninja…mister ninja…wake up…."

Neji groaned at the disruption but opened his eyes anyway, glad that his back was turned to the source of light flooding the small area. It was past sunrise, not that it bothered him, and the Hyuuga sat up, looking at the small group of children. He was glad to see they were happily devouring the remaining food he'd brought with him and glanced back at the young girl who'd woken him.

"Is something wrong?"

The girl looked down at her feet, unable to meet his gaze. "We thought you might want something to eat before you take us back into town."

Managing a gentle smile, he shook his head. "I'll have something to eat once I've gotten you all back." Standing, Neji stretched and looked out over the forest, glad to see that it was sunny with no indication it would rain. 'Now, easiest and fastest way to get all of them back is probably me carrying them on my back one at a time.' He decided, heading to the mouth of the cave to check his suspicions. Activating his Byakugan he could see the denseness of the trees would mean walking the group would be slow. No direct path existed between where they were and the village, and he sighed. 'No chance for sore legs, I can get all of them into the village within an hour; definitely the best plan.'

"Mister ninja how are we getting back into the village?" The oldest of the group questioned, finishing his sandwich.

"I'll be carrying you in one at a time." He told them, somewhat glad none of the group disagreed with the idea. "There's no direct path back to the village on the ground, and it would take more than two hours to walk there."

"So we get to ride on your back?" one of the boys asked, earning a nod from the older male. "Cool!"

"If any of you are finished eating I can take you in now." Neji told them, earning a nod from one of the boys. He waited for the male to stand and led him to the mouth of the cave, kneeling down to allow the male to climb onto his back. He felt the short arms wrap around his neck and quickly slipped his hands under the boy's knees. "Hold on tightly."

The boy did as told, tightening his grip just in time as the Hyuuga used his already crouched position to leap into the nearest tree, easily bounding across the tree branches. "Wow…"

Neji didn't bother responding to the boy's amazement, and it only took a few minutes for him to reach the outskirts of the village. "Where do you live?"

"Over by the big roundish building."

Activating his Byakugan it only took a few moments to locate the aforementioned building and they were in front of it within moments, the Hyuuga setting the young man down. "Head home; I need to go and bring the others into town."

"Thank you, mister Konoha ninja."

He smiled briefly as the boy ran off, watching him with his Byakugan until the child reached a house and knocked on the door. The woman who answered seemed incredibly relieved to have her son. He didn't waste any more time watching the boy as he took off toward the cave once more; he had five more children to return to the village after all.

* * *

Dropping the last child in the village he moved to the rooftops, glancing around for the male who had requested Konoha assistance on the matter. It didn't take long to spot him, and Neji dropped onto the street in front of him. "Sir; all six of the children have been returned to the village and sent home."

"I'm glad you found all of them; my son returned home not half an hour ago and I was relieved to see him. I figured you had located and returned them all, where were they?" the older male asked, the Hyuuga turning side on to the male.

"There's a cave at the foot of the mountains, just past the thick grove of trees that extends around approximately half of the village." Neji informed him, pointing in the direction of the cave. "It's likely they wandered past the thick trees and got caught out there, unable to find a way back in."

"I see, I doubt we'll have the issue again but I'll be sure to check that area if it ever happens again. Thank you, Neji." Nodding, the Hyuuga took off back to the room he'd booked for the night, mainly to collect his bag.

Upon reaching the small room he checked his wet clothes from the night before, glad to find they were dry. Deciding against a shower he packed away the items and glanced at the bed, tempted to grab a few hours' sleep before heading back to Konoha. 'No, I can sleep when I get back.' The coffee haired male decided stubbornly, grabbing his bag and readying himself to leave.

Stopping briefly on his way out of town, Neji grabbed some fresh bread and devoured it as he moved, somewhat glad when he left the village behind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Tai: **I apologise for not updating this sooner! I wanted to get another chapter written before I uploaded this one, but lectures and assignments and exams kind of...took over. Also talking to americans I met on a computer game, they're sweet. Anyway, I re-read this before uploading it; I wrote it and reading it again made me giggle...yea I'm a bit of a perv. Enjoy

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or other things you might recognise.

* * *

The sun had turned the sky orange as it began dropping below the horizon, the colour tinging the grass and surrounding mountains with the bright colour. A pair of dark amber eyes focused on the edge of the village, brow furrowed in concern. The Hokage had sent Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy, on a solo mission out to Kumogakure, whom had a history of trying to steal the secrets of the Byakugan. The teen had left early yesterday morning, and with his skill he should've been back by sunset the following day.

Should have; so far the Hyuuga hadn't returned to the village and Tsunade had given orders to the guards at the gate to inform her immediately when the Hyuuga arrived. She was slightly concerned for the Hyuuga's wellbeing, less for the fact that he'd gone alone to Kumogakure and more for the issue she'd found out about after lunch the same day.

Sakura had informed her that Neji had been training late the night before the mission and was likely to be tired, though the medic ninja had to admit she hadn't seen any signs of fatigue in the male. The blonde made her decision and turned in for the night; there was nothing she could do for the moment.

* * *

The same orange glow from the night before appeared in the morning and Tsunade was sitting at her desk once again pondering the situation. Neji hadn't returned during the night; it was unusual for the Hyuuga to not have returned. Going back on her decision from the night before, she called for one of the ANBU officers stationed near her office. "Get me Kiba Inuzuka."

The masked ninja bowed and disappeared, unsurprised when he returned mere moments later. "He's on his way."

Nodding the blonde mentally came to her decision; things could not be left any longer. The tanned male soon appeared before her, his large canine at his side. "You asked to see me, Hokaga-sama?"

"I did; Neji was sent on a mission to Kumogakure two mornings ago and had yet hasn't returned. Sakura brought it to my attention yesterday that he was training late and was unlikely to have slept." Tsunade stated firmly, gaze fixed firmly on the Inuzuka. "I want you to head toward Kumogakure, locate him and bring him back as soon as possible."

"Understood." Kiba bowed sharply and took off with Akamaru, the pair heading home to gather his weapon pouch. Tsunade was left considering whether or not she'd done the right thing.

'I wouldn't have made him a Jounin if he wasn't ready; this is only because Sakura told me he hadn't slept.' She reassured herself, returning to the rest of her work.

The Inuzuka meanwhile was bolting out the gate, trying to calm his mind on the matter. "Neji's a Jounin, he'll be fine. Tsunade is just being paranoid." He muttered, looking down at the large white canine at his side.

"_We both know there's more on her mind than him being tired; people within Kumogakure have tried to steal the Byakugan before." _Akamaru barked back, looking up at his partner._ "A tired Jounin being attacked by someone trying to steal his eyes is a reason to worry."_

Nodding, the Inuzuka sped up and tried to pick up the Hyuuga's trail, he and his canine moving to have a gap of a few metres between them which allowed a better check of the area. They were halfway to Kumogakure when a familiar yet faint smell that held a striking similarity to peach and vanilla reached his sensitive nose. Stopping quickly to double check what he'd detected, he was relieved to finally pick up some trace of the male. "That's him…"

"_It is; the wind's carrying his scent at least so we're going the right way." _Akamaru growled back, sniffing once more. "_Come on; we'd better go and see why your princess hasn't returned or met up with us yet."_

Kiba bit back a growl and rolled his eyes at the canine, but he none the less agreed and took off once more, glad to find the barely detectable scent was getting stronger, though not as quickly as he would've liked. Regardless the Inuzuka pair continued pushing forward at speed, determined to get to the male as quickly as they could as per their orders.

It didn't take the tanned male long to realise why the scent wasn't getting stronger as fast as he'd expected. 'Come on Neji…why aren't you moving?' The male wondered; worry starting to creep into his mind.

"_Kiba…" _Noting the worry forming in his partner's eyes, the large white canine was hesitant in informing the male of the second trace he'd picked up, mingled with the slowly nearing scent. _"I can smell blood."_

No sooner had the words left the canine's mouth than the metallic taste Inuzukas associated with the very smell of blood filled his senses, making the teen queasy as the two scents mixed. Both were similarly strong, and the duo had to assume the worst; the Hyuuga had been attacked and fatally wounded.

With the grizzly thought in mind Kiba urged his body to move faster; Neji's sweet scent was still strong, too strong to be coming from someone who had already passed, unless it was a _very_ recent death. The very fact that he hadn't picked up on the metallic scent as soon as he'd detected the Hyuuga was promising, but it didn't guarantee the older male was all right.

The scent reached its strongest and both man and dog dropped onto the ground, still running as they narrowed in on the scent. The slender coffee haired male soon came into sight but Kiba didn't stop until he was standing right next to the Hyuuga, who was settled under a tree trying to put pressure on a wound in his calf. Panic slowed but didn't cease completely; the blood scent was strong and he could already see the bottom of the male's pant leg was soaked.

"Neji! The hell happened?" golden orbs fixed on the lilac eyed male, crouching down next to him as he looked at the wound. It was deep; not life threatening but in serious need of medical attention.

"Concentration slip; bastard snuck up on me." The paler teen muttered, clearly frustrated with his own stupidity on the matter. "Caught me by surprise and got my leg; killed him before he could do much more."

The red marked teen looked at the Hyuuga carefully, frowning at him. "When did you finish your mission?"

Sighing, the Jounin glared at the younger male, holding back a growl. "Yesterday morning." He replied curtly, well aware of why the Inuzuka had been sent. "The attack happened shortly after I left the village; yesterday afternoon."

Kiba moved without much thought for the older teen, pulling out a kunai and quickly cutting away the blooded material of Neji's pants, allowing him to get a clearer view of the injury. Dried blood was covering parts of the male's leg, and the darker colour making the surrounding skin look paler than it truly was.

"Move your hands." He growled, the golden orbs glaring into the pale ones of the older ninja. "I need to see how bad it is, and if you use indirect pressure it should stop bleeding faster."

Muttering at the male's instruction, the Hyuuga complied regardless and moved his hand up onto his thigh, pressing firmly on the major vein, swearing at himself for not having done that as soon as it had restarted bleeding. "I got it to stop bleeding last night and got some sleep." He informed the younger male, yelping slightly as the tanned teen lifted his leg to almost rest on one shoulder. "Trying to run back today started it up again."

"Idiot; you shouldn't have been running." Kiba stated, shaking his head briefly. "Akamaru." The white canine wandered over, looking between the two males. "Neji, you're not walking back, and that leg needs treatment; I'll let you pick whose back you go on."

"I am _not _being _carried _back to Konoha!" Neji growled, not intimidated by the feral looking brunet in front of him. "I will walk once my leg stops bleeding."

Sighing, Kiba pulled two items from his tool pouch and after a few quick movements, handed one of the items to his canine, replacing the other in his pouch. "Take that to Tsunade as fast as you can, Akamaru."

The huge dog nodded and took off without another thought, Kiba receiving a glare from Neji. "Don't ignore me Inuzuka. I am a Jounin, you are a Chuunin; I am your superior."

The wolfish grin took away his confidence on the matter, but the Byakugan user tried to maintain his glare, an unnerving feat in light of the other shinobi's smirk. "And Tsunade's outranks you; overruling anything you might say against this." Kiba's attention turned to the wound, grabbing the few medical supplies he carried and wrapping them around the wound tightly. "Now, are you going to come quietly or not?"

The glare he received from the Hyuuga leant toward 'not', and the Inuzuka sighed, rubbing behind one ear. "All right then; have it your way, just keep your damn hand on that vein." Pulling the older teen's pack out from behind him, he slid it quickly onto his own back. Unwilling to give Neji a chance to complain, he pulled the Hyuuga's free arm over his shoulder, slid one arm beneath the slender male's legs and the other behind his back, lifting the male into his arms.

The movement took Neji by surprise and he wrapped the arm Kiba had moved around the younger teen's neck, trying his best to glare at the male which proved utterly pointless with a dark blush forming. "Not getting embarrassed are you Neji?"

The Hyuuga didn't dignify the question with a response as the male stood up, taking a moment to adjust to the new balance he required with the added weight in his arms. It only took a few moments before they were up in the trees, the pale eyes of the Hyuuga gazing over the firm, strong features of the Inuzuka as he carried them both through the trees.

Kiba glanced down briefly, his golden orbs catching the pale eyes of the Hyuuga, causing the older male to blush and look away; rechecking his grip on the femoral artery of his injured leg. He could already feel his foot tingling, which was a good sign. He glanced back up to see the Inuzuka's gaze focused on where they were going, and Neji took a moment to admire the brunet.

He didn't normally get the opportunity to be so close to the male, he'd never been in the younger teen's arms before and he realised quickly that for all the toned muscle the Inuzuka had, his body was gentle and warm against him. The red triangles on his face sharpened and enhanced several of his features, making the tanned teen look more feral and canine-like. Realizing he was staring again, Neji mentally swore and activated his Byakugan, watching Akamaru quickly disappear from his range.

The pair were alone, and the Hyuuga let out an accidental sigh, the memory of a few nights ago resurfacing. "How did Sakura's interrogation go?"

The golden eyes looked down at him briefly, the wolfish smirk returning to Kiba's face. "Wasn't just Sakura; she rounded up everyone."

Neji paled at the thought, eyes fixed on the golden orbs above him. "Everyone?"

"_Everyone._ She must've rounded them all up not long after sunrise; I led them on a chase for about an hour and then surrendered." Kiba informed him, the Hyuuga shifting slightly in his arms. "They've agreed to keep it quiet, and I've told them it's up to you if we let people know about this non-relationship."

"When you say they…just who are we talking about, exactly?" the Hyuuga wanted to confirm; he already had suspicions on who made up the group. The gentle movements of the Inuzuka as he bound from tree to tree were oddly soothing, despite the stressful conversation.

"Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Choji, Lee and Shino." Kiba listed quickly, not bothering to glance down at the male. "I got them all blushing or squirming slightly when I answered their questions."

Groaning at the news, Neji rested his head against the younger teen's shoulder. "What do I need to know before we get back?"

"According to what I told them last night; the training areas near lakes are where we've been having sex because neither clan compound is an option. Akamaru normally stands guard to make sure we have advance warning of anyone approaching, we kept going after Sakura left." Kiba listed off for him, his movements not ceasing. "Naruto wanted to know how long we'd been together, I told them just over three months. Hinata seemed relieved that I was the reason you were sneaking out at night; she'd noticed your nightly excursions…oh and Tenten wanted to know who topped."

"Of course she did, fucking pervert." Neji muttered, keeping his head against Kiba's shoulder as he carried them both back to Konoha. His eyes slipped closed and mind focused only on the important details; he had to fake a relationship with the man who was currently carrying him like a newlywed bride back to Konoha. The very same one who'd told both of their teams they'd been having sex _out in the open_ for a few months.

The very same tanned, toned, fine featured Inuzuka on whom he'd had a crush for the last year and occasionally spent nights dreaming about being in the exact position he was currently. A distinctly canine smell, which was all he could normally detect, flooded his senses, accompanied by a mix of grass, honey and a spice he couldn't pin down. Neji found it relaxing to the point of letting a content sigh escape his lips. Without meaning to, his grip on his inner thigh lessened, allowing normal blood flow to return to the tingling limb.

The pale eyes remained closed as the Inuzuka continued on almost silently, glancing down at the Hyuuga briefly.

"Neji?"

"Yes, Kiba?"

"You'll be resuming your grip on that leg shortly, won't you?" the tanned male questioned, gaze flickering briefly over the hand Neji had resting on his upper thigh. He inwardly cursed at the fact that he was currently running through the trees carrying Neji when his gaze fell on the male's face, gentle pale features seeming more delicate than ever.

"Yes, I just needed to let the blood flow resume for a moment." The Hyuuga didn't bother opening his eyes to the question and did as he'd said, Kiba glad of the movement; he didn't need the slender male bleeding out from a damned leg injury.

The rest of the trip back to Konoha was made in silence, and Kiba was unsurprised to see his partner waiting for them at the gate. "Where to, Akamaru?"

"_Hospital; Tsunade wants that injury tended to asap." _The white dog barked, earning a nod from his best friend and master. The Inuzuka didn't need anything further as he headed straight for the building, looking down at the Hyuuga in his arms briefly. The gentle, even breaths told him Neji had fallen asleep during the last half of the trip and he didn't particularly feel like waking him just yet.

A familiar pink haired female met him inside the hospital doors, and at the sight before her she almost cooed at how cute she deemed the couple to be. A glare from the golden eyed Inuzuka suggested it wasn't the best idea, and she led the tanned male off into a prepared treatment room to look at and heal Neji's leg.

'Hell I was hoping I'd have a little more time to get used to this, or at least have time to ask Neji what he wanted to do if this happened…' Kiba thought with a sigh, hearing the door close behind him. Opting to keep hold of the Hyuuga, Kiba settled himself onto the bed and let the male drop into his lap, shaking his shoulders gently. "Neji, wake up; Sakura needs to check your leg." He kept one arm around the male's waist as the male began to stir, hoping the male wouldn't forget they were 'in a relationship'.

The coffee haired male groaned at the brunet's rousing words; partly because he was being woken up, partly because it might mean moving from his comfortable position, and partly because Sakura meant faking a relationship. The pale eyes opening, he realised he was already sitting upright and the warmth hadn't left his side. 'Guess I'm sitting in Kiba's lap then…'

Glancing at the pink haired woman he sighed and brought his arm in from around the Inuzuka's neck, settling in into his lap. 'Right…relationship….Kiba's sort of making it easy for me, doesn't mean I have to return the favour.' "I don't need my leg checked, it's fine." He growled, glaring up at his golden eyed captor.

The Inuzuka raised one eyebrow as Neji tried to struggle free somewhat, though he soon realised the grip the Inuzuka had on him was stronger than he'd thought. He didn't give up his attempt and moved his gaze down to the arm restraining him, the coffee haired male deciding to use both hands to try and pry himself free.

'If that's how he wants to play it, I'm game.' Kiba smirked at the squirming Hyuuga's actions and used his free hand to tilt the slender male's head up, forcing him to look at him. Really, Neji squirming was adorable to the Inuzuka, but he had to say _something._ "Are you really sure you want to be doing _that_ in your current position, pet?" he purred, pointedly ignoring the blush creeping its way onto Sakura's face.

Neji frowned at the question, but his confusion didn't last much longer as the Inuzuka moved one leg slightly, reminding the Hyuuga of exactly where he was perched. The result was instantaneous however, the pale cheeks flushing slightly. "Shut up." He muttered, turning his head away from the male. Any attempt to look annoyed was overruled by the blush, which seemed to turn his scowl into more of a pout, causing the Hyuuga to look once more adorable.

The cooed 'aww' from Sakura made the dog ninja look up at her, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to heal his leg or just stand there and stare?"

A pink flush flared up on the girl's cheeks, and she quickly sidled up to the bed, looking over the exposed wound in the Hyuuga's leg. It didn't take long before the familiar green healing glow covered the woman's hands as she worked, focusing on the male's leg.

Neji's blush had finally subsided, and he finally picked up on the fact that his captor's heart was beating rather fast. Looking up, the lilac eyes narrowed curiously as he looked over the tanned male's face, barely spotting the slight blush largely hidden beneath the Inuzuka's painted fangs. Resting his head against the younger male's shoulder, he let out a small sigh. 'Maybe this won't be so difficult.'

* * *

**Tai: **Right, brief post-chapter note; I am working on chapter 7. It is in progress. It may take a little while as I figure out how to continue things from the point I'm at**  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Tai: **Okay can we all agree that this story has taken me far too long to finish and will probably continue to do so? Great! Moving on...

Started reading A song of Ice and Fire recently, I'm on Book 5 (no spoilers please -.-) and someone reviewed one of my stories recently, making me go 'oh dammit, there's stuff I'm meant to be writing'. So as my apology you're getting a fairly long chapter. Plenty of innuendo and fluff, maybe a little plot, not much else.

Anyway, you've waited long enough for this to continue; onto the story ^^

* * *

Sakura's healing of his leg didn't take as long as he'd expected, and thankfully Kiba released him once she was finished, allowing the Hyuuga to slide himself onto the bed. "All done, just make sure you rest, and try to avoid putting any stress on that leg." The pink haired woman instructed, blushing as she caught sight of a rather wicked grin on the Inuzuka's lips.

"Thanks Sakura. I better go and check in with Tsunade about my mission." Neji stated, rubbing his leg slightly before standing. The Inuzuka stood to follow, earning a raised eyebrow from the paler teen as he headed for the door.

"What? Bringing you back was my mission." The golden eyed teen defended, following the older male.

"Aww and here I was thinking you came to find me because you were _worried _about me_." _he teased back, heading out down the hallway.

"Who says I wasn't worried?" Kiba called after him. "Thanks for healing him up, Sakura." Taking off out the door after his 'boyfriend', the Inuzuka had to hold in a sigh of relief as he chased down the Hyuuga. The coffee haired male was waiting just outside the doors of the medical building for the younger teen, and they headed off together.

Well out of earshot of anyone else, Neji glared at Kiba. "Did you really have to make me sit in your lap?"

"It seemed like the most convincing way to sit with Sakura in the room; would you have preferred me dumping you onto the bed without a care and her asking questions?" the tanned male hissed back. "Because I would have been leaving you to answer them."

"You could've sat _next_ to me instead!" the pale eyed male growled back, returning the glare he was receiving. "Sitting me in your lap was a bit over the top."

"We've supposedly been dating and doing it for _three months_ Hyuuga; if sitting in my lap is embarrassing for you, feel free to go and explain to everyone what you were _really_ doing out there." Kiba stated, quickly silencing the older male.

Reaching the Hokage's office, their argument stopped and the pair entered the round room, reporting in to the blonde woman on their respective missions. They were quickly dismissed; Tsunade pleased that Kiba had managed to locate the Hyuuga quickly, and glad that Neji had completed his mission with relative ease.

As they walked from the building and headed back into town, the tanned teen fell deep into thought; what _exactly _were they meant to do now? He'd slowed down considerably as he continued to think, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Hyuuga, who matched his decreased pace. After several minutes of silence, Neji sighed. "What are you thinking about, Kiba?"

"I'm just wondering…what do we do now? I mean we're supposed to be in a relationship that we've been hiding for a few months, do we just go about our evenings as normal or what?" Kiba questioned quietly, still dragging his feet somewhat. "I mean we could; you still have to decide if we're letting everyone know."

Neji pondered the question for a moment, trying to ignore the voice in the back of his mind insisting that they should let everyone know. After all, it could make for some _interesting_ excuses for trying to get out of things, or situations around the rest of their friends. He shivered slightly; he didn't need his byakugan to recognise the feeling; someone was watching them.

'Really now, what's the harm?' Smirking, he walked on ahead of his 'boyfriend'. "You just made me sit in your lap while Sakura healed my leg, the least you can do is buy me dinner, Inuzuka."

"Aww come on Neji, don't be like that." Kiba teased back, jogging slightly to catch up with the older male. "Don't pretend you weren't enjoying it."

"My enjoyment or lack thereof is hardly the issue here, you know the rules; dinner _at least _if you want to get your way." Neji stated, continuing on straight. "Pretending you _forgot _only works so many times, Kiba."

"Sorry, I thought _saving you_ would cover that debt for tonight." The Inuzuka stated, rolling his eyes. "I'll add that to the list of '_things that don't count as romantic gestures', _shall I? Gods you're high maintenance."

"I know; but I'm worth it, and you know _exactly _why." The Hyuuga smirked, glancing back at the younger male. "So, where are you taking me for dinner?"

Freezing briefly, he let out a sigh and jogged to catch up to the older male. "Where would you like to go? It's your turn to pick." Wrapping an arm around the coffee haired teen's waist, he leant close. "Lee and Naruto are following us; have been for a couple of minutes." He muttered gently, glad that the Hyuuga didn't glare at him or pull away instantly.

"Ah so that's who it is." He muttered back, leaning against the Inuzuka, whom had thankfully chosen to stick to his previously injured side. "I don't care, somewhere with meat; I'm starving."

Chuckling, the two headed toward one of the restaurants they frequented with the other ninja around their age. Both kept a quiet track of their pursuers; their fake hidden relationship was no longer going to be hidden, which meant they needed to keep a careful watch of what they said to one another.

* * *

"Wow…I thought Kiba was just trying to cover for both of them doing something they shouldn't be with that story but they're actually going out on a date…" Naruto muttered in awe, blue eyes focused on the unusual pair. "I mean I know they're both stubborn, but they wouldn't be that dedicated to keeping up a cover story…would they?"

"No; Neji might be smart enough to come up with that sort of excuse but Kiba isn't, never mind giving the sorts of details he managed." The green clad male reasoned, both shuddering slightly at the memory. The girls had gone well into the 'too much information' territory when asking their questions. "Lying is one thing, hanging out together after a mission is innocent and normal, but Sakura said Neji was sitting _in Kiba's lap_ while she healed him. "

"Are we sure that's the real Neji? I mean shouldn't he have broken Kiba's….everything?"

"Normally? Yes. But them being in a secret relationship that got caught out by the only other person in the room? I'm not so sure…"

Naruto shivered as he felt his gaze momentarily connect with the Inuzuka's, though he was certain the tanned male couldn't see him. Fear finally reached his senses as he watched the pair start devouring their meal. "We should stop spying on them; I mean they're scary enough alone on a normal day, but we're about to spy on _Neji _and _Kiba_ on a _date."_

The statement made Lee pale as he glanced between his blonde companion and the aforementioned duo. Both males were highly skilled ninja, not only in battle but in one very specialised area: tracking. He and Naruto were the most distinctive and noisy of all their group and they were following the two best trackers from the very same group.

Getting caught wasn't an 'if'; it was a 'when'.

Surviving past that point was the biggest 'if' in existence.

"I vote we call off following them and let them have dinner in privacy. If Sakura, Ino and Tenten want more information they can get it themselves."

The blonde nodded at the decision and both took off as fast as they could; if they were lucky the pair hadn't noticed their followers, if they weren't….

* * *

Glancing out the window, the brunet smirked. "Seems like those two just realised who they were following and made a run for it."

"I always wondered if they had half a brain between them." Neji grinned, "I guess they decided to put their own safety above information gathering for the girls."

"I'd never thought I'd be so thankful for Shino's lack of enthusiasm about gossip; he's about the only one who could spy on us and get any…unhelpful information." Kiba stated, earning a frown from the dark haired male. "What? We're in a restaurant; I'm not going to say something like _that_ here where anyone could overhear us."

The Hyuuga couldn't help staring at his companion; the feral looking and brash male was largely considered in their group to be one of the least sensible and most oblivious individuals, yet their conversations thus far about their relationship were proving otherwise. It was quickly becoming evident to the prodigy that his initial appraisal of the male's intelligence may have been based more on false information and assumptions rather than facts.

"You're giving me that look."

Snapping from his thoughts, the pale eyed man looked up at his golden eyed companion. "What look?"

"The 'who are you and what have you done with the real Kiba' look; Shino does it every time I say something helpful on a mission." He shook his head, shovelling more food into his mouth. "It's like it surprises him to find out I'm not a complete idiot."

"Yeah that sounds like Shino." Neji agreed, laughing slightly. "And you're not far off; it's just a little unusual to hear you come out with something other than a brash decision every now and then." Quickly stuffing his mouth with food, he sat quietly hoping the Inuzuka would let the topic drop; he was already feeling slightly guilty for insulting his supposed boyfriend's intelligence.

"Which is just your polite attempt at telling me everyone else thinks I'm stupid, not just you and Shino." The Inuzuka muttered, rolling his eyes. "It amazes me that you'll all make that assumption so easily and fail to see the benefits of _letting_ you think that."

Neji frowned at the comment, almost certain the Inuzuka was bluffing to simultaneously make himself feel better and confuse the Hyuuga. Drawing a blank on any benefits to the situation he opted to try and call him out on it. "What possible benefit is there to letting others think you're a fool?"

"Well for one no one relies on me to come up with plans to deal with things, and staring blankly at things generally convinces someone else to do them for me. Otherwise the 'poor, stupid Inuzuka' might fall behind or screw them up." He smirked back. "How many times have you _volunteered _to fill out mission reports because it was my turn?"

The Hyuuga's jaw dropped at the realisation, making Kiba's smirk widen. "You _act_ stupid to get out of paperwork?"

"Damn straight. Just think of how many extra things you get given because you're _smart_." He grinned "Honestly, how on earth do you guys think I get my solo mission reports done? My mom and sister have their own jobs to take care of."

"So while the rest of us are filling in mission reports you've subliminally convinced us to do because we think you'd mess up, you get to relax and do what you want?"

"Bingo."

He sat dwelling on the news for several moments; was Kiba really that smart or was he just bluffing right now? The smirk on the tanned male's face could go either way.

"You don't believe me? Right, you wouldn't…well then ask me anything about the missions we've been on together."

Thinking about it for a moment, trying to think of a mission they'd both been on where _nothing_ of interest had happened; it was surprisingly difficult, but finally the perfect one came to mind. "The second mission we went on with Sakura."

"The first time you offered to write a mission report for me." Kiba chuckled. "We were sent to investigate reports that people were disappearing near a hot spring as reported by the owner. It turned out she'd hit her head and was continually losing parts of her memory, so she never remembered the guests checking out. We spent four days searching the entire area and only figured it out after spending the night away."

He was somewhat surprised by the detail the Inuzuka was readily able to provide. "You remember every mission that well?"

"Mothly." The word came out somewhat garbled through his mouthful of food and Neji couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Sorry; wasn't about to let it get cold."

'Right, table manners, not really something Kiba's ever had…then again he's meant to be my boyfriend now so I get to scold him for such things. Speaking of which...' "Well you could at least swallow before answering." He sighed, shaking his head. "And anyway, three months we've been together, _three months_ and you _still_ have me writing your reports!"

"Ahh…"

"Oh don't give me that! You've let me do _your _work when you're perfectly capable of doing it yourself!" the Hyuuga snarled. "Just so you can keep up your little act."

"You never asked about it; you just kept offering and I wasn't about to say _no._" Kiba defended, finally abandoning his dinner. "Would you have reacted any better if I'd just come out and said after we started dating 'by the way I'm perfectly capable of writing my own mission reports and have been this entire time'? It didn't really come across as something that'd put me in your good books."

The Hyuuga blushed and dropped his gaze back to his own meal; he didn't want to admit the younger male was right, particularly when it was obvious he knew it already. "Shut up…"

The pair sat in silence for several minutes before Kiba sighed. "Are you too tired to head out to one of the lakes with me tonight?"

Neji found he couldn't help going red at the question; after all Kiba had told the other they were screwing like rabbits in those sorts of locales, which was an out and out lie. It didn't stop the idea from being planted and his minor crush _definitely_ wasn't helping, but nothing was coming to mind for a legitimate reason the canine would ask him there. Of course, if he was going to let the Inuzuka tease him, he wasn't about to sit there and take it freely. "No, I shouldn't be, particularly after you buy me _dessert _Kii-ba."

It had the desired effect as the golden eyed male coughed and grunted slightly, unable to keep his gaze on the pale eyed male. "Ah…what did you have in mind?"

"Cake and ice cream…mmm…maybe some pie as well." Neji grinned, glad he was finally managing to get a subtle revenge on the Inuzuka for the perverted lies he'd told their friends. "And cheesecake."

Kiba glanced up at Neji, raising an eyebrow. "Cake, ice cream, pie and cheesecake? You'll get fat eating all of that…or you would without me."

The Hyuuga couldn't help pouting at the comment; it was the only way he could keep himself from laughing. "You say that like you wouldn't love me anymore if I got fat. That's not what you're saying is it?"

"I'm pretty sure it's impossible for you Hyuuga's to get fat." The tanned male chuckled shaking his head. "And even if it was, managing it with our almost nightly activities would be quite a feat."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Ah…I'll go order dessert." He stated quickly, standing and heading back toward the counter, only for a pale hand to ensnare his wrist.

"Kiiiiba…"

Sliding onto the seat next to his 'boyfriend', Kiba let out a sigh and cupped the older male's cheek briefly. "'Course I'd still love you; I'm not that shallow." 'Please don't kick me in the shins, or the balls, or anything else…' "Now, am I allowed to go and order dessert?"

"…sure."

Just as quickly as he'd slipped onto the seat next to next to the paler teen the Inuzuka was gone, and Neji let a small sigh, relaxing slightly. 'Bad enough I have to go through this farce, but I have a crush on him and my own body is betraying me for it enough with his damned teasing.' He thought with a growl. Part of him wished he could hear those words without this whole act being necessary; that he could just throw himself wholeheartedly into an embrace from the Inuzuka and be his, but that wouldn't do. He was a Hyuuga; Hyuuga are strong and proud, they don't throw themselves into the arms of others unless they were little girls, and he was most certainly not a little girl.

Though it was still tempting to try and be held by the Inuzuka…

The tanned male slipped back into his own seat and watched the paler teen curiously, a sly smirk on his lips.

"What?"

"You're blushing."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am not; why would I be blushing?"

The wolfish smirk widened at that, and an uneasy feeling rose in the pit of his stomach. "Because you're thinking about being down at the lake."

He could feel the colour rising in his cheeks and wanted to swear; he could almost hear a voice in the back of his mind adding to the teasing, telling him to admit that deep down, he really wanted to be pinned beneath the Inuzuka and be completely-

"And you're not? I'm hurt Kiba, I would've thought you _missed_ me a little more." He smirked back, and he was somewhat glad that the tanned teen was now blushing alongside him, though not quite as badly. "No hints then as to what we're doing tonight, then?"

"I was thinking I could make sure nothing else was _injured_ while you were gone; it's one thing for Sakura to tell me you're fine, but I'd rather check myself." The golden eyed male was smirking again, but it was diminished by the red tint on his cheeks.

"I'm not sure my doctor would approve."

"You doctor would be _watching_ if we gave her half a chance."

He smirked at the statement. "Of course she would, and you never said or did anything to _encourage_ her, did you?"

"Ahh…."

Neji started laughing at that, and their desserts arrived while Kiba was still fumbling for words, giving him some mild entertainment. "Of _course _you didn't; just like you didn't come up with the idea of having our _alone time _out in the open near lakes."

"I seem to remember a certain Hyuuga agreeing to it before I could come out with another suggestion." Kiba shot back. "Really now, I'd almost think you want us to get caught." The Inuzuka smirked as his pale companion attempted to glare menacingly at him. It was rather difficult as he'd already stuffed half of his cake into his mouth, barely getting it shut.

"Mo fayre." Neji complained back, still attempting to glare at the younger male.

"And here you were telling _me _off for not swallowing." Digging into his own dessert, Kiba let the sounds of the restaurant fill the otherwise silent void. Neji was already moving onto his pie, and Kiba bit back a growl as some familiar voices reached his ears. "Sakura, Ino and Tenten are here." He hissed to Neji, who let out an annoyed groan.

"Oh come on…" Suddenly the remained of his dessert didn't seem as appetising, but it was interesting enough to try and deconstruct with his fork.

"Neji! Kiba! What a surprise to see you two here." The pink haired woman's voice couldn't have been a more pleased purr if she'd been a cat, a fat cat with a big bowl of cream. "I hope we're not interrupting."

"Interrupting? No, what on earth could you _possibly _be interrupting, Sakura?" Neji asked, voice dripping in sarcasm. He turned back to the younger male. "I swear Kiba; you should've lied and said we weren't together and that Akamaru had just knocked us over one after the other. She'll be following us around trying to _accidentally_ interrupt us, probably Tenten and Ino too; I'm sure they'd love to see us _at it_."

One elbow already resting on the table, the brunet brought his hand to his forehead and started laughing, unable to look at any of the girls, nor the pale male opposite. 'You sly bastard, you just told them the truth, I know it, you know it and it fucking sounds like a poor attempt at a lie. Hell if we ever have to come clean they sure as shit won't believe us.' He was attempting, and failing, to fight back his laughter at the thought.

Sakura had gone as pink as her hair, and was unable to meet Neji's rather bored gaze; Ino and Tenten weren't faring much better. "It was just a coincidence running into the two of you here!" The brunette stated quickly, earning furious nods from both of her companions.

Kiba had finally managed to compose himself and wiped away a tear, still smiling broadly. "Oh and I suppose it was pure happenstance that Naruto and Lee were hiding on rooftops behind us as they travelled this way too?" he rolled his eyes at the claim and glanced over at his partner. "Neji stop playing with your food."

The pale eyes dropped back to his plate, muttering a soft "I'd rather play with something else", just loud enough for the girls to hear and darken all of their blushes.

"Sorry Neji, Kiba; we didn't mean to interfere." Ino apologised quickly, dragging her gobsmacked companions away from the two males.

Kiba was grinning like an idiot at them as he waved farewell, the mischief clear in his eyes. Once the trio were well out of earshot he glanced back at Neji, who had easily turned his apple pie to a mess of crumbs and apple mush. "I was serious about you not playing with your food."

'I was serious about wanting to play with something else.' "I figured; this is normally how I eat pie." He stated simply, finally scooping some of the pie remains onto his fork.

"You're a horrible liar, Neji."

* * *

Neji let out a content sigh as he waited outside the restaurant for Kiba, whom had already decided he was paying for dinner. 'I think I'm going to enjoy having him as my boyfriend…fake boyfriend…whatever…I just wish I didn't have a crush on him.' Left to themselves his thoughts were picking through the carcass of their dinner conversation, which had been a great deal of teasing and perverted commentary from the pair of them. Kiba had started it, of that he was certain.

His curiosity was stilling running rampant on _why _the Inuzuka wanted to go to the lake tonight; they'd supposedly last seen each other only three nights ago; even for a pair of horny teenagers that seemed a bit often to him. 'Did he say we went to the lakes specifically for sex or just for time alone together?' he wondered, barely aware of the tanned teen's returned presence until an arm slipped around him.

"Naruto and Lee again." He heard Kiba growl into his ear quickly, and soon they were heading off toward the village outskirts, and he was almost certain that the Inuzuka was keeping a sharp track of their tail. "Why don't you go on ahead, Neji; I'll catch up."

Nodding at the suggestion, he headed through the trees, activating his Byakugan to make the trek to the lake easier. 'I suppose time alone together doesn't really work with that lot trying so hard to spy on us; I'm surprised they're keeping it up…I guess Kiba's gone to scare them off.'

Shaking the overly energetic duo from his mind, focus turned back to the golden eyed male's reasons for wanting him out by a lake. 'I suppose there might be more fake relationship stuff we need to sort….gods it was hard enough not making a fool of myself on the way back to Konoha, but this time alone with him might just do my head in…'

Stopping at the water edge he lot out a sigh and slipped out of his shoes, dropping to sit with his feet in the pool. Pale eyes changed slightly as he activated his bloodline trait, checking the surrounding area for any sign of company; no one was even close, save for the Inuzuka who was slowly picking his way through the trees. "You got rid of them?"

"Yup; they're probably the easiest ones to scare off out of all of them; thank gods it's not any of the girls." Kiba muttered, settling next to him.

Checking one final time that they were definitely alone, Neji deactivated his bloodline trait and let out a sigh, gaze dropping to the water in front of him. "Kiba, why did you ask me here tonight?"

"I told you at dinner; you're a horrible liar." The tanned teen muttered back and the Hyuuga kept himself calm, holding in a shudder as he felt the golden orbs turn on him. "You lied to me when you said why you were out there."

"So did you." He shot back, watching the tanned male. "You said you were trying to catch Akamaru; he sleeps inside with you so the only reason he got out is because you let him out." He didn't bother trying to keep the bite from his voice; the other male was accusing him of lying after lying himself, he wasn't going to let it stand. 'I may have lied first, but he didn't have to lie back.'

It was a weak defence and he knew it, but it was all he had as the Inuzuka watched him closely. "So you won't tell me why you were really out there? I would've thought one lie was more than enough."

Neji grit his teeth and considered his options; if he refused to tell the Inuzuka the truth the tanned male was probably bull headed enough to stage a public breakup, robbing him of a perfectly good cover. If he did tell…

Neither option was horribly appetising to him, but he could only avoid one of the two. 'There's still Kiba's lie…would he let it up so easily?' "Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to tell me why you were really out and…no laughing…' The last two words were barely a mumble, but they seemed to have reached the canine ninja.

"Why would I laugh?"

'Because said aloud it sounds stupid, childish and foolish.' "Because it will probably sound like a lie." He let out a sigh at the thought, but gave in anyway. "Hiashi told me a few months ago that, because I'm his nephew, he's going to be giving command of lower branches over to me, on Hinata's next birthday."

"That's great isn't it?"

"It was at first…until I realised that all the guards, all the other ninja I'll be in charge of are all older than me; they're all wiser, stronger, harder; I'm one of them, sure, but why should I be over any of them? The only reason he's doing it is I'm his nephew; my father was his twin. They won't respect me, they'll argue back and I can't blame them for that. I might be a jounin but compared to them I'm…." He didn't want to say it, he couldn't.

"Compared to them you think you're weak, so you're trying to get stronger?" He nodded and the Inuzuka sigh, shuffling slightly. The gap that had been between them was basically gone, and he could feel the water moving where Kiba moved his feet.

"It might sound hollow to you, Neji, but I know how you feel." Glancing over at Kiba, Neji found the Inuzuka gazing up at the sky. "My mother is still alive and still in charge of the family, which is all well and good, except she's decided it's time she started giving me more responsibility within the clan. I mean it's great that she trusts me, but being leader of the clan is a huge thing and…I'm not ready for it.

"Every time I lie down and try to sleep everything just comes to mind at the same time; all the new duties and responsibilities, things I should and shouldn't do…everything, to the point where I can't sleep. I lie there tossing and turning and end up waking Akamaru up, so I started going for walks instead…"

The Hyuuga was somewhat speechless at the admission. 'I'm only being put in charge of the branch family, but he's got a whole clan to worry about…' "When does she want you to take over?"

"They're planning a bug official thing for my twenty-first…"

"Hell...that's what, two months away?" A stiff nod from the Inuzuka confirmed as much, and he shook his head. He'd been told two days after Hinata's last birthday, giving him just under a year, but it didn't seem the Inuzuka heir had been given nearly that long. He shuddered to ask how long it'd been since he'd been informed of his new duties.

"It's a 'ready or not' thing too; it doesn't matter if I don't think I'm ready; it's already been decided that I'm taking over…" The strain was clear in the younger male's voice; regardless of how energetic he always seemed, Neji had finally spotted the exhaustion peeking through. The bright spark that made his golden eyes shine was gone; they looked dull and tired despite his smile.

'He's exhausted and he didn't want anyone to see…' He realised, finally taking a moment to look beyond the façade the Inuzuka was showing. The smile was forced, his shoulders slumped and his normally solid, muscular frame seemed more gaunt than strong. He hadn't seen it initially, but then he wasn't looking for it earlier; there was no reason to.

"How long's it been since you last had a good night's sleep?"

"Ah…let's see…Akamaru dragged me out and we bumped into you three nights ago so….two weeks."

"Two weeks…that was the mission we went on with Ino and Sakura – you were injured and refused to listen to them when they told you to rest." Neji frowned, staring at the male.

"Yup; they drugged me to shut me up and make me sleep." He sighed. "I still catch a few hours here and there, enough that I'm not falling asleep during training or missions, but nothing close to a 'good night's sleep'."

They sat in silence, listening to the birds and castling of the trees in the wind, the gentle splash of the water as one or the other of them moved their feet. 'At least I found a way to get sleep, but if that was the last he actually managed a decent rest he won't last much longer.' "You could train with me, and see if that helps."

Kiba's bright eyes locked onto his own pale ones, a curious frown set into his brow. "Train?"

"Thanks to you the others are already convinced we're coming out to places like this to, y'known…so why not make use of the situation? It might tire you out enough to get some sleep, and even if it doesn't, more training never hurts.

'_Oh very good; get your crush sweaty and shirtless and all to yourself out in an area where your other friends think the two of you are having sex. Yes, well done Neji; why don't we go walk over some lava on the way home?' _Neji mentally cursed himself; faking a relationship with the man was one thing, but they didn't actually have to spend the time together.

Kiba mulled the idea over quietly and finally nodded. "Training might be better than just running around aimlessly in the middle of the night." He watched as the tanned teen stood and slipped his shoes on before turning to help the other ninja to his feet. "But not tonight; you still need to rest that leg a bit; I sent Akamaru to the Hyuuga compound with you pack when I got back to the village. You should go home and rest, or unpack at the least."

"Yeah…tomorrow night then?"

Kiba nodded his agreement. "Tomorrow; I'll see you then." He didn't wait around for any further confirmation, dashing off into the trees and heading for home.

Neji watched him leave, and once he was sure the Inuzuka was out of earshot he let out a sigh. "Nice going Hyuuga; why don't you just out and out tell him instead." Muttering curses under his breath he headed for home; regardless of the nap he'd had on the way home, he still found he was tired. 'I can think about everything else tomorrow; a hot shower and another nap are what I want right now….and Kiba…'


	8. Chapter 8

**Tai:** Congrats! I belted out this chapter in a little over a week and I've got a thousand word start on the next chapter. I have something else I want to work on, but considering I started this back in '07 I figured it was time I actually _finished it. _Hopefully the next chapter or two we'll get an ending. And be glad! I have a friend who's told me it needs a happy ending =)**  
**

Aiming for roughly 3000 words on the next chapter, aiming for 10 total so two more after this one; happy ending, etc etc. If there's anything you really want included before the end review and let me know; whether its a request for some serious intimacy or fluffyness.

Anyway, chapter time

* * *

A smirk danced in the golden eyes of the short haired brunette as he knelt over the ebony haired male, hands either side of the older teen's head and panting as he attempted to catch his breath. The pale eyed male wasn't much better, his pale cheeks flushed amidst his exhaustion. A shimmer danced across their skin in the moonlight as it reflected off the sweat that drenched them, both males out of breath and barely paying attention to the world around them.

The tanned male finally threw himself onto the dew covered grass next to his dark haired companion, staring up at the stars. "Fuck…its hot." He breathed, draping an arm over his eyes. "It's the middle of the bloody night; it shouldn't be hotter now than it was during the day."

"You're right…fuck I'm going to be covered in bruises tomorrow thanks to you." Neji muttered back, finally sitting up. Running his hands across his arms and running one briefly down his back, he let out a sigh. "You need to cut your damn nails; I'm covered in scratches."

"I'll cut them and they'll grow back in a couple of days, a week at most. They grow to this length and stay there; I can't help it." Kiba shot back. "Besides yours aren't much better, and I have bruises to go along with them. Did you have to be so rough?" Sitting himself up, his bright yellow eyes locked onto the lilac of his companion and smirked.

Rolling his eyes the Hyuuga stood. "Did you?"

"Of course."

Muttering under his breath Neji headed to the edge of the lake, leaving Kiba sitting back alone on the grass. Sniffing at the air Kiba checked their surroundings; some nesting birds sleeping, a few small mammals scurrying about beneath the trees but thankfully no other people. He'd stopped checking a while ago, and things had been so intense between them that he was almost certain Neji had too. No lingering scents indicated that they hadn't received any visitors to check up on them tonight.

His gaze flickered over to the Hyuuga who was slowly circling the lake edge, pale feet dragging through the water and causing ripples over the surface. His long dark hair seemed darker than normal against his pale skin, absorbing all the light of the evening like some endless pit. His skin meanwhile seemed to glow and shimmer in the moonlight, a mystical sparkle making him seem almost like a spirit.

Surrounded by the peaceful, undisturbed area it seemed almost like a dream, the Inuzuka realised, and it was one he didn't want to wake up from. He'd almost started to live for the night, for the time right after they finished, just so he could watch the way the light moved over Neji's slender form, the graceful way he stepped through the water. He could smell the sweetness of the Hyuuga's sweat in the air, making it intoxicating and almost overwhelming experience.

The first few nights he tried to avoid staring; he'd lie looking at the stars, the trees, or stare at the centre of the lake or the distant shore, anywhere that _wasn't _the Hyuuga. That had lasted a week, and that was being generous; without being consciously aware of it he started sneaking glances, trying to mentally record the image of the older male.

He gave in further when he realised that small glances weren't quite enough to capture the exotic and beautiful figure that was Neji Hyuuga. Complete surrender was only a step further; short periods of staring at the male lead to Kiba needing to tear his eyes away from the coffee haired male and he quickly found that difficult.

'Just one more time.' He mentally told himself; as he had every night since he'd started staring. 'I can't keep gazing at him like this; or at the very least I shouldn't…and yet here I am still staring…'

He wasn't sure if Neji had noticed his fascination; he always seemed to be off in his own world when Kiba found himself staring at the pale skinned magnificence of the older male, and only seemed to snap out of it when Kiba finally decided to jump into the lake. It had quickly become their nightly routine; time exhausting themselves, a swim and then they'd both go home and get some sleep. Occasionally one of them would fall asleep on the grass, and when that occurred they both stayed out there for the night; generally so whoever had fallen asleep didn't catch hypothermia overnight.

More than once Kiba had woken up in Neji's arms, but more frequently he woke up with the slender male in his own arms. He always felt content with the older male next to him; warm, relaxed and happy. Those were the mornings he never wanted to move, never wanted to leave the lakes and would've been happier than anything for the world to end, but it never did. Moments later the reality of the world would come crashing down on his mind; all the responsibility he was meant to assume in a little under a month…

He let out a sigh; it'd already been a month since they'd started training together at nights and they were routinely going home covered in bruises and scratches; anything worse was treated by Sakura, whom had no objections to being woken up by one or the other of the pair. She'd initially wondered about the injuries until they'd admitted to training to 'get their blood up' some nights, and while she found it strange she was still highly excited by the idea of their…nightly activities.

'And I'd be lying if the idea didn't excite me a little as well…' Shaking the thought from his mind he stood and stripped off his shorts before walking into the cold water, diving toward the centre as soon as he was hip deep. 'Get those thoughts out of your head, Kiba.' He mentally scolded himself, enjoying the freezing feeling as it rushed past his skin. Surfacing he found the Hyuuga watching him, a frown fixed onto his fine features.

"What's wrong, Neji?"

"The scratches on your back are bleeding…" he muttered, gaze fixed on the younger male. The Inuzuka reached up and ran a hand across his back, frowning as he spotted the faded red on his fingers. "They shouldn't be deep enough to bleed again now."

"They're not; it'll just be how the blood dried while we were on the grass." The tanned male shrugged, watching the Hyuuga curiously. "Some of yours might act up when you hit the water…sorry." He didn't wait for a reply, opting to dive back beneath the surface of the water and allowing the cold to envelop him once more.

He could almost taste when they Hyuuga hit the water; some of the scratches started bleeding briefly as the dried blood came away in the water, and opted to surface. They floated around in the lake for a while, enjoying the silence and refreshing feel of the water on the hot night; just enjoying one another's company.

"How about we give training a break tomorrow night, Kiba?" the Hyuuga suggested, floating lazily on his back. "I mean we can still come out here, but I think we need to let the bruises and scratches heal a little."

Gazing at the sky he thought about it for a moment before agreeing. "Sounds like a plan. Any suggestions on what we could do then?"

"Hmm…I'll let you know."

"Sounds good." Re-righting himself in the water he moved back toward the edge and stepped out, flinging himself back onto the grass. "So what, cards? Board games?"

Neji laughed happily, making the now naked Inuzuka frown. "Not sure yet; good suggestions though."

He felt more than saw the pale Hyuuga drop onto the grass next to him, and sighed. "So I'm not allowed to know? Brilliant…Do you know what I realised? There is no way in heaven, hell or earth that anyone would believe us now if we told them the entire truth about this."

The pair lay staring at each other for a short moment, seriously considering the repercussions of that realisation before both started laughing. "We are so completely screwed."

* * *

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! The heck were you thinking, Neji?' he mentally swore at himself as he headed for their normal meet-up spot. 'A day with everyone and no training tonight, you're going to be with Kiba the entire day! Why the hell did you think this was a good idea? Full day of faking a relationship in front of everyone, and then he still has to see me tonight.'

Naruto had decided it'd been too long since they'd done something as a group and stated it was time to change that. Everyone was going to be there; the boisterous blonde had stated, and there was no excuse he would deem acceptable for missing it.

…unless you were Shino; the insect ninja had stated he was going on a mission, gave Naruto a brief window to object and walked off without another word. The Aburame was the only one amongst them that could pull off such a feat.

The pale eyed male wanted to hit himself for suggesting tonight for their break from training; sure he was sore but they could rest tomorrow instead of tonight. He wasn't really that sore, in truth, it just seemed like Kiba might've needed someone to talk to considering his birthday was only a month away.

"…woke me up and asked me to come and heal Neji's arm…figured for a start that he was getting a bit too rough...you hear about Inuzuka's and their bedroom exploits…"

Neji stopped and frowned at the sounds as they reached his ears. 'Sounds like Sakura is talking to the girls about the fact we've been waking her up for minor healing.' He was close enough to hear parts of the conversation, but far enough still to miss sections of it as he moved through the trees. Opting to pick his way lightly through the trees so he could continue to listen, he activated his Byakugan to check who was already there; it seemed the girls had met up early.

"What changed your mind on that?" Tenten's unmistakeable voice questioned, and Neji paused in his movements. "I mean there had to be _something_ that happened to make you think that it wasn't just them having sex that was causing it."

There was a long silence and the Hyuuga almost held his breath, glad he already had his byakugan active to check that his cousin wasn't using hers. "Well…a few days after that Neji turned up for help with Kiba. When I got there his shoulder was dislocated and he was covered in bruises."

"You mean Neji was the one getting rough with Kiba?" Ino sounded suitably shocked at the idea, and Neji couldn't help grinning at the memory of that night. It was the first time he'd managed to take the Inuzuka by surprise.

"That doesn't sound right…" 'Ah Hinata….so innocent sometimes…'

"That's what I thought, and then a few days later Akamaru came and got me instead of either of them; there were both in one hell of a state; fractures, major sprains, a few deep cuts. They looked more like they'd just returned from a deadly mission than anything else. So I asked…"

"And?"

"Well we all _thought _them going out every night to…y'know, was a bit much, and it turns out they don't. They meet up and either have sex or train…or occasionally both. Apparently training puts them both in the mood-"

Ino interrupted whatever the pink haired woman was going to say. "That sounds like an out and out lie; if that were true wouldn't they have been rushing off to take care of themselves every day after training since we left the academy?"

"Maybe it's just when they're alone?"

"Or maybe all those times out at the lake all they're doing is training and they _aren't _in a relationship?" Tenten posed finally, and the Hyuuga inwardly panicked. 'Shit…she couldn't really be onto us, could she?'

A derisive laugh left one of the girls, though he couldn't immediately tell who. "And what, the night Sakura caught them that was a coincidence? Like Neji was out there alone, Kiba bumped into him and somehow they ended up naked and on the ground?" He blinked at the blonde's curt dismissal of the idea. 'I know all of that's true and it sounds like a damned lie…'

"She's right though; if it was Neji and Shino we were talking about it might be a lie; they're both smart enough and determined enough to keep up that sort of farce. It's not though; it's _Kiba _and Neji, do you really think _he _is smart enough to carry on that sort of thing for a month?" 'Ah.._well…_yes, but none of you would believe me if I said that.'

A small noise behind him made the Hyuuga turn sharply, and he found the aforementioned tanned male standing there smirking wolfishly. 'Yeah yeah…you called it…' Rolling his eyes he turned back toward the girls, who were still quite a way in front of them and _still_ talking about it. "Feel like interrupting them?" The deep growl sounded right by his ear, and he was certain that without the male's hand on his shoulder he probably would've jumped and given them away.

"No." he muttered back, just as quietly. "There's almost certainly going to be a better point to interrupt them coming up."

"…just tell us that?"

"Oh come on! Three months; they were together _three months_ and the only thing any of us noticed was them getting a little tired every now and then! Do you really think they'd tell us _everything _unless we were asking the right questions?"

"Neji probably told him-"

"Told me what?" He bit back a laugh as the clueless tone reached his ears; Kiba had bounded ahead without him noticing and had seen fit to interrupt the girls. 'I don't think he could've picked a better time.' Making his way through the trees, Neji did what he could to recompose himself.

"Kiba! How long have you been there?" the pink haired woman's tone made it clear she was at least a little worried about how much he'd overheard. Although they all agreed that Kiba wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, he was one of the strongest and most temperamental, and insulting his intelligence wasn't really a good idea.

"Not too long; he heard you guys talking and ran ahead of me about a minute ago. Why, were you saying something to insult my boyfriend?" The double lie rolled off his tongue easier than he'd expected, and when Kiba dropped down next to him he gave them his best wolfish grin. He felt a faint blush forming on his cheeks when the Inuzuka slipped an arm around his waist, but kept his grin firmly in place.

All four of the girls were too busy being caught between blushing and cooing at the sight before them to notice his blush, and none seemed ready to answer. "They probably were; look how red they've gone."

Gently elbowing the younger male in the ribs, he glared at him. "Be nice Kiba, we're spending the day with them, remember?"

"Fiinee…where's everyone else?" He could tell there was conversation going on around him but he wasn't really listening; it was odd to be standing so close to Kiba, rather nice to have the younger male's arm around him.

Not to mention he could finally put a theoretical number on how much taller the tanned male was. It wasn't a huge difference but it was _probably_ enough to give the younger male some rather decent leverage if they ever ended up… 'Get those thoughts out of your head; you're not alone in your room anymore.' He could feel the colour already in his cheeks and was almost certain everyone else had seen it.

"…alone, you're the ones asking about what we do at night; it's not his fault if it reminds him of what we were doing last night." Kiba was almost growling; whatever their conversation had turned to was not sitting happily with the younger male. The arm around his waist had pulled him slightly closer, almost protectively, and much as they did when training, his eyes had taken on their rather feral glow.

"Huh?"

"Never you mind; now I'm pretty sure I asked where everyone else was?" Kiba stated, glancing briefly between Neji and the four girls.

As if on cue the rest of the group appeared down from the higher branches of the trees, Naruto in the lead and grinning like the idiot he was. Shikamaru looked as bored as he always did, Lee as boisterous and Choji….well he was busy eating, same as always.

"Great everyone's here! So any suggestions on what we could do today?" the cheerful blond asked, glancing around the group and receiving more than a few glares for his trouble.

"You got us out here _before lunch _and don't actually have any plans as yet?" Choji complained, dropping to sit on the ground. "What was the point?"

Shikamaru leant himself against a tree, closing his eyes. "You didn't really tell us to come all the way out here without a plan did you, Naruto?" All eyes had turned to the blond and Neji's momentary discomfort had disappeared.

"Ahhh…."

* * *

Glancing over at the couple her earlier doubts about the legitimacy of their relationship were gone; the Inuzuka had moved into a rather protective stance at the Hyuuga's side. While the older male seemed horribly distracted by…who knows what, Kiba had been very…un-Kiba-like. It was strange to watch Neji space out while Kiba stayed attentive and important; almost a complete reversal of their personalities.

"So, we're agreed then?" Ino asked, glancing around their gathered group. "Lunch and finding out some more about our _lovely_ couple?"

The Inuzuka's smirk had returned, and the Hyuuga at his side was grinning rather mischievously; it was an unnerving combination. "I told you, if you want more information outta me you have to catch me."

"Oh, well, we'll just catch Neji instead." Tenten shrugged, and Sakura found herself nodding in agreement. The smirk on Kiba's face had widened, Neji's smile had grown and it was becoming somewhat difficult for her to figure out just what they were finding so funny, particularly when Shikamaru snorted at the idea.

It was the more timid of the two Hyuugas that finally spoke up. "Um…not to…uh…disagree with you, but…Neji…Neji's a jounin; why would he be easier to catch than Kiba?"

"And finally someone sees sense; Kiba and Neji are the fastest of our little group and last time we only caught Kiba because he _wanted_ us to." The Nara sighed, shaking his head. "I mean sure Lee might have a shot at catching them, but only if he removed his weights and only if it was just one of them, but it's not. If they split up we'd have to pick one to chase down, and then we still need to be mindful that they aren't working together. Too many variables to consider with both of them here, not that you've thought about it."

Sakura glanced over at her teammate and almost wanted to scream; the completely clueless look on his face made it obvious he didn't understand any of what was going on, or what Shikamaru had just said. "So all we're doing at the moment is lunch?"

"Unless you all feel like going for a run? Yes."

'Great…another game of chase the Inuzuka…' Sakura sighed, trying not to glare at the two males. "So, how about we just do lunch to start with and go from there? We can figure things out while we're eating." She decided, thankful when everyone agreed and started discussing where to go.

She wasn't really listening to the conversation as it progressed; agreeing when it seemed needed and following along when they moved on. 'Surely they're not faking it…I mean gay or not, Neji would've hit him for standing there effectively cuddling him…it's not overly convincing; they're not behaving like they're a couple that's been together for months. It's more like they've just…started…dating…'

"Neji! How long have you and Kiba been together?" she called ahead to the pair, somewhat startled when she noticed the younger male still had his arm wrapped around his supposed boyfriend's waist. It seemed as though he hadn't removed it since first placing it there.

"About four months now, why?" They Hyuuga frowned, and she could see he was almost itching to activate is bloodline trait to try and figure out what she was thinking.

"Oh don't worry; I'm just a little surprised is all. I mean, I expected Inuzuka's to bite a little more." She hoped it sounded casual and just a shrug off comment, one that they wouldn't think too much on. Thinking gave time for lies, and the only way she could figure out what was really going on was if she managed to catch them when they weren't expecting it.

And as she expected, everyone stopped.

"What?!"

"What."

"What."

"What?" She could feel everyone's eyes on her and bit back a grin. "The number of times you've called me out to heal random injuries and you've both been shirtless, and there's not a single bite shaped mark anywhere on Neji."

"Not that you could see."

"Neji!"

"What? She brought it up, it's not my fault." The pair were glaring at each other and her doubts faltered for a moment. "No, you didn't see any bite marks because he doesn't leave them where other people might –"

"Neji…"

"MIGHT see; it's not my fault you find it such a personal thing and you _won't _tell me _why_ you don't want other people to see them." Neji turned away from the younger male, crossing his arms and glaring at a nearby tree.

"I've told you, it's difficult to explain…" Kiba defended, moving around in front of the older male. "Do you always have to pout when we discuss this?"

A cough from Ino made the pair jump, and Sakura thanked her lucky stars for the distraction; she hadn't been expecting that strange…revelation? 'Hell I don't even know what to call it.'

"Did you two want a moment to kiss and make up?" the blonde asked curtly, and the pink haired woman found her relief turning to annoyance; she wanted to watch this play out.

"Yes."

"No; he's not getting any such thing."

They were glaring at each other again and she heard the other males of the group sigh; almost cursing them for it. "Look, we'll go on ahead and get started on lunch, follow when you like but if you're not fast enough don't complain that there's no food." Choji stated, and it seemed the matter was settled.

They continued on toward town and, as they walked, Sakura found herself next to Tenten, who seemed just as disappointed by their departure from the couple as she was. "I wish Choji hadn't said that; I wanted to keep watching. I mean I know Ino was probably kidding about the kiss and make up but still…"

"That would've been something to see." She agreed, glancing over her shoulder; the pair were hidden from view by a thin wall of trees now, and she almost wished she could see through the trees… "Hinata, can you see what they're up to? Just briefly; I mean I'd hate for one of us to…ah…interrupt them because we were concerned they hadn't eaten."

The pale eyed girl had gone bright red, and she knew it was a really bad to ask the timid girl to spy on her teammate and her cousin, but she didn't have a choice.

"But-"

"I know…it's intruding a bit Hinata but I'd feel terrible if me bringing that up caused a serious fight between them." She inwardly celebrated when the girl complied and activated her byakugan, and the blush on her cheeks seemed to darken more.

"Well?"

"They're…ah…kissing…" she stated quickly, deactivating her bloodline trait and Sakura sighed. 'Guess I was wrong then…'


	9. Chapter 9

**Tai: **Well second to last chapter time, and if you remember I asked at the start of last chapter for you to review if there was anything you wanted to have happen. I only got 2 reviews, so I asked a friend as well, results below:

Steve(A friend of mine I've been bugging while writing at the moment): Bucket of awkward. Oh he also wants a hobo.

Gagawest: "KNOCK OUT DRAG OUT AMAZING H*** LEMON MRATED SCENE" – yes I directly quoted that. Check reviews if you don't believe me.

Tiktay13: Wants a confession

I will be doing my damn best to get all of these in during this chapter and the next. Look forward to it. And yes, I wrote this before I did the chapter.

* * *

He stood glaring at the younger male, attempting to be mad at him for a lie and he was almost certain it was a poor performance for an audience that was walking away. If any of them looked back, they wouldn't see anything, they were out of earshot but one of them could still see. "Kiba, you have to kiss me." Neji hissed, closing the gap between them. "Now."

"What?" The Inuzuka hissed back, stepping away slightly.

"Hinata…Sakura will get her to see what we're doing." The Hyuuga explained quickly, watching the pink haired female closely. She'd already started curving toward the younger Hyuuga, so it was a 'now or never' situation.

The golden eyes widened slightly in realisation and Neji's byakugan deactivated. "Oh…" The tanned male seemed hesitant to do it, but similarly eager to do just that.

They were running out of time and the pale male glared at him desperately. "Kiba."

It seemed to be the final push the younger male needed, as Kiba stepped forward and wrapped one arm around the Hyuuga's waist, pulling them chest to chest. His free hand slipped up into the Hyuuga's coffee hair and Kiba pressed his lips firmly to Neji's waiting ones.

* * *

"I can't believe we missed that!" Ino complained, slowly dragging her feet.

Lee was practically bouncing around the group after Sakura had passed on the news; apparently he thought it was great that one of them had actually seen the pair sharing such an intimate embrace. "Oh if only we had been there to witness it!"

"Lee, calm down; chances are we'll see it ourselves soon enough." Tenten sighed, almost dreamily.

"And those of us who don't want to see it will try not to vomit at the time." Shikamaru stated, earning a laugh from both Choji and Naruto. "Honestly, you lot are far too interested in their relationship."

"You're not interested enough!" Ino shot back; grinning at the male. "How does it _not_ interest you in the slightest?"

"Because it's their personal life; it's none of my business." Shikamaru stated, rolling his eyes at the blonde. "I'll tell you what, since you're so interested in seeing them so close, if they're not at lunch in five minutes _you_ can go and get them."

The idea seemed to thrill all the girls, at least briefly, before they realised just what they could be interrupting; two very dangerous ninja in a very, _very _intimate embrace. Probably something more involved than just a kiss if it was taking more than five minutes. The very idea made them all blush bright red, and Hinata appeared about ready to faint, so the subject was dropped as they headed into town.

"Sakura…you don't think they'd actually…"

"Knowing we'll be waiting for them? They might." The pink haired girl replied, frowning slightly. "I honestly don't know what to expect from them now, Tenten."

* * *

Kiba wasn't entirely sure what to do, and he didn't like the feeling; Neji had demanded that he kiss him to keep their cover up and he'd complied. He'd hesitated, forced the explanation from the older male but that had been more to stop himself from coming across as too eager. In a perfect world the Hyuuga would've demanded a kiss and he would just pull the older male into his arms, comply and never let him go.

Except that would mean admitting that he really, really, _really_ liked the pale eyed man who was currently standing silently with his back facing the Inuzuka. All that served to do was confuse him; though it was a little less confusing than the fact that, when he'd given in and kissed him, Neji had kissed him back.

That was still throwing him a little.

Okay that was a lie; it was throwing him _a lot._

Kiba had done as instructed; wrapped his arms around the male and pulled him into the kiss to make it look convincing for Hinata. He'd intended it to be just a swift peck on the lips…until Neji had returned the embrace and kissed him back.

And then things just had escalated.

A peck on the lips had become a wrestle between their tongues, and the loose, gentle embrace had become firm, almost clingy and desperate. When they'd finally broken apart Kiba was surprised he was still on his feet, while Neji had turned away and widened the gap between them. He didn't know what he was meant to do; his crush had demanded a kiss and then _kissed him back_, there wasn't exactly a _manual_ for that sort of thing.

'Do I apologise? I mean I don't want to; I've wanted to do that for a while, and I can't really apologise without it sounding completely fake. I'm definitely going to remember that until the day I die…' Kiba thought, watching Neji closely. A short sniff of the air was all he needed to find out that the rest of the group was almost at the restaurant, and yet neither he nor the Hyuuga had moved.

He wasn't sure if time had stopped or if it just seemed that way, but he knew they couldn't just stay there pretending it hadn't happened. Sighing, Kiba turned to start heading after the rest of the group. "We should go and catch up with them, otherwise-"

"Kiba…"

"-we'll miss-"

"Kiba..."

"-out on-"

"Kiba."

"-lunch."

"Kiba, look at me." He hadn't heard the Hyuuga move, he hadn't been keeping an eye on that; the only thing he was trying to focus on was keeping himself calm. Neji's hand around his wrist had thrown all of that out the window and he didn't think he could muster up the courage to turn around, but…

But he had to; though the Hyuuga's grip on his wrist wasn't strong it was enough to stop him from moving forward at the moment he doubted it would stay that way permanently. So he gave in and turned, meeting the empty pale eyes with his own bright yellow ones, opening his mouth to ask Neji…something...

The question was lost on his lips and every thought left his mind save for one; _don't let go. _Neji had closed the remaining gap between them and kissed him once more, and the only thing he wanted was to keep the Hyuuga there as long as he could. He couldn't help himself as he wrapped his arms around the shorter male, pulling him closer and deeper into the kiss.

Dizziness started fighting his desire to keep Neji so close and he gave in, pulling away from the older male and resting his forehead against the Hyuuga's. He didn't remember closing his eyes, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to open them and face reality once more. "…Neji…"

He felt the older male move slightly to rest his head against his shoulder. "Mmm?"

"We're going to talk about this tonight aren't we?"

"Mm hmm…now, we should go and catch up."

Reluctantly he released the Hyuuga, who kissed his cheek softly before heading off. 'Tonight is going to be...interesting…'

* * *

Shikamaru was relieved when the pair finally appeared at the restaurant and shuffled sideways to make room for them, glad when the Hyuuga sat in next to him. "Neji, need to talk to you after." He muttered quietly before returning to his conversation with Tenten. He'd never been so glad to have an uneventful day with the group; they had lunch, talked about nothing and as it started to get dark the group slowly dwindled.

By sunset only he, Neji, Kiba and Sakura remained of the full group, and he was trying not to grow impatient with her continued presence. She was still asking pointless questions about their relationship and various injuries she'd healed for them, and it was rather frustrating, particularly considering he knew what she was trying to achieve. He'd had the same thought, as had Shino, and they'd worked together to get the bottom of things.

Of course the Aburame was the only one who could spy on the two trackers without being caught, and they all knew it; particularly the pink haired pest. It was the main reason he'd gone on a mission; even Shino had his limits when dealing with Sakura, and given how persistent she was being with Kiba and Neji, he would've been driven off.

He was growing sick of her himself, and it was obvious Kiba was well past it. The fact that he hadn't stalked off or snapped at the woman was a bit of a surprise to him, but after some of the things Shino had told him, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

"So when you said-"

"Honestly Sakura? You're _still _asking questions?" he asked with a sigh, earning a glare from the woman. "What, do they have to actually _have sex in front of you_ for you to understand they're in a relationship and have been for a while?"

"I was just-"

"Driving them both up the proverbial wall with your endless questions and nit-picking about small, insignificant details of their relationship." He finished for her. "Go and ask Lee out on a date. Or Naruto. Or both. Quite frankly I don't care which, but it's bloody obvious you need to get laid or something. Go home, Sakura."

They sat in silence glaring at one another before she finally surrendered and walked off, and for the first time in a few hours both Kiba and Neji moved. "Come on; she can't change her mind and come back to bugging us if we're not here."

Agreeing quietly that it was a good idea to move, he stood and followed the pair through the trees, not really bothering to ask where they were going. It didn't take long for the trio to arrive at a lake, and he almost rolled his eyes. 'Of course, where else.'

"I take it you wanted to talk to Neji about something Shino found out while he had his insects spying on us?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

He was a little surprised at the bluntness of the question, more so that it had been Kiba to ask it…though Shino _had _mentioned some secret the Inuzuka had…

The Hyuuga had gone wide-eyed at the question. "_Shino_ was spying on us?"

"He checks up on me from time to time when he thinks something's wrong." Kiba shrugged. "Shino was worried after that interrogation last month; you guys might not be able to tell when I'm lying, but he can. Just like I can tell when he's worried."

The admission surprised both males; they could scarcely tell when the Aburame was _awake_, never mind any emotions he might have had beneath the all-concealing gear he always wore. He also had to deal with the fact that the Inuzuka had, most likely, already figured out exactly what he wanted to talk to Neji about. Something was off about the whole situation; Kiba was _not_ that smart.

"He isn't as stupid as we all think." Neji sighed, having obviously spotted the perplexed look on his face. "He acts like an idiot, we don't rely on him for mission reports or strategizing on missions and he gets all the free time in the world."

"That would explain what Shino told me…" he muttered, dropping to sit on the grass with a sigh. "I guess you've already figured out that Shino knows you two haven't been in a relationship for the last four months, then?"

He watched the pair exchange a glance before Neji nodded and joined him on the grass. "To tell you the truth we've sarcastically told the girls as much; the night Sakura caught us I was out here training on my own, and Kiba was chasing Akamaru."

"Why lie about it then?"

"You seriously have to ask? Given the theories 'they were out there together' and 'they randomly bumped into each other while shirtless in the middle of the night', which sounds like a lie?" Neji asked, rolling his eyes.

The Nara considered it for a moment; it certainly sounded like a lie, and if they used it as a defence against Sakura's accusation of them being in a relationship, well it wouldn't hold up. The lie would be considerably easier to just agree to. "Point taken. That doesn't explain earlier today though, when Hinata…."

He didn't even get the full sentence out before both males went bright red and made every effort to look away from each other. 'Ah so they actually kissed...that's a lot of dedication to the lie, though with the amount of badgering Sakura's done today I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.' The more he watched them, however, the more Shikamaru realised their blushing was about more than the fact that they'd been forced into kissing. Glancing slowly between the two it dawned on him. 'Aha….'

Getting to his feet he sighed, "I'll leave you to it then." The Nara didn't wait for a response before walking off, shaking his head slightly. 'Leave it to Sakura to force people into a relationship they already both wanted and not even realise it. Here I was about to offer both mine and Shino's help to keep up their lie, and it might not even _be _a lie by the end of tonight.'

He laughed at the idea; three truthful confessions in one night from their group? Not bloody likely.

* * *

After Shikamaru's departure the pair sat in silence, still blushing furiously at the comment he'd left; he'd already known this entire thing would be difficult, but the Nara just had to remind him of it. It was bad enough he'd demanded the younger male kiss him; he had to do _something_ with his cousin about to check that they weren't just standing there glaring at each other or laughing.

He didn't want to kiss him back.

Well, he did, he really, _really _did, but it wasn't really his place to do so.

…okay that was a lie as well; _technically _it was his place to; he _was _faking a relationship with Kiba, but…

'Oh shut up Neji; you wanted to kiss him, demanded he kiss you for the sake of keeping up the appearance of a fake relationship for your cousin and took it from there. What you now have to do is get your shit together and _tell the Inuzuka, _who, quite honestly, looks absolutely adorable when he's blushing like that.' He mentally told himself, before slapping a hand to his face. 'And staring at him is _not telling him the truth!'_

Kiba was still bright red when he finally looked over at Neji, and his normally sure voice was timid. "So…this afternoon when you told me to kiss you…"

"That was to keep up the fake relationship." He stated calmly, and he could feel the colour already returning to his cheeks.

"And when you…kissed me back?

"Uh…" Impossibly the Inuzuka was going redder, to the point where he was sure HInata would be proud of how deeply her teammate was blushing.

"And…when…you…when you kissed…me?"

"I...uh…well…" 'Oh come on; you've had a crush on him for ages, you've sat in his lap and kissed him earlier, and been pinned beneath him almost every night the past month.' Neji scolded himself. 'You've been almost killed a half dozen times, been on solo missions that you could've lost your life on, faced fears and talked about them. Just open your trap and say "_That one was because you look adorable when you're pouting and I really, really wanted to."_ It's not that hard, Neji!' "Uhh…" 'Oh well done.'

"I mean…I'm not…" Kiba's gaze had dropped to his feet as he floundered through the start of his sentence. "It's not like…I don't…You…I just…uhh…."

'Just close your eyes, pretend you're back in your room and say it out loud like you have dozens of times before; _"Kiba Inuzuka I think I love you." _Come on now, you're a big strong jounin, you can say it.' He glanced at the younger male, who was still floundering about his own sentence and sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried again. "Kiba-"

"Yeah?" the tanned male had stopped his aimless rambling and was looking at him curiously.

'How do I know he's looking at me? I have my eyes shut…._had…_I _had_ my eyes shut; he said something and I opened my eyes. I should have practiced with more noise around instead of in a silent room.' He wanted to groan and shut his eyes again, but he was already looking the Inuzuka in the eye. "I…I….umm…the thing is…I sort of…"

"…Neji?"

"It's just…there's…something…important…really important…thing I have to…have to…say." He fumbled through the sentence, not sure he could get it out. Not with those golden yellow eyes watching him, mesmerising him and drawing him in slowly but deeply, to a point where he wasn't sure he wanted to look away.

"Neji?" He felt the question more than heard it and finally Neji looked down, away from the pools of gold that threatened to drown him before he could say what he needed to.

'Just do it!' he mentally screamed, digging his nails into the palms of his hands. "Kiba I like you. I told you to kiss me to keep up the fake relationship, I kissed you back because I've always wanted to know how it felt and I kissed you because it seemed like the only chance I'd get to do it ever again. I like you Kiba and I have for a while-"

"Neji…"

"-and if we're going to continue to do this," he stated, finally looking back at the younger male. "I really think you need to know-"

The sentence died on his lips as Kiba kissed him, felt his hands wrap around the Inuzuka, pulling him as close as he possibly could, and nothing mattered anymore. He felt the ground against his back and the warmth of Kiba's tongue against his own and stifled a moan. He tasted like summer; warm and sweet and something he never wanted to let go. He didn't have a choice though when Kiba pulled away; younger he might be but Kiba had more pure physical strength than the Hyuuga.

Taking a deep breath Neji opened his eyes again to find the Inuzuka staring back at him, his blush somewhat faded and a determined look in his eyes. "So…uh…I guess…you…I mean…why…does this m-" His sentence was cut short as Kiba kissed him once more, strangling his question in his throat and once more leaving him breathless. "Umm…."

"You were rambling. Again." the Inuzuka growled, leaning down until his lips were by Neji's ear. "Now, are you going to keep rambling or can we move on?"

"I'm tempted to keep rambling if it'll keep you kissing me." Neji muttered back, wrapping his arms around the younger male.

The wolfish smirk that appeared on his companion's lips sent a thrill through his body. "Ah, but moving on would get you so much _more."_

* * *

He could feel himself starting to doze as he waited for the Aburame; while Shino had guaranteed he would be back tonight, he hadn't been able to specify a time. He didn't really mind; he didn't have anywhere else he needed to be.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tai: **And here we are at last dear readers; the final chapter of a story I started all the way back in 2007. I must admit I never imagined it'd take me so long to finish this, and I thank you all for sticking with me; for reviewing and demanding chapters, and, most of all, for the kind compliments and encouragements on my writing.

The Kiba/Neji pairing community always seems to leave such lovely reviews, to the point that when I'm having a bad day I'll simply turn to the reviews on these stories and it cheers me up. There's another thing I've been wanting to write for a little while that I decided I wasn't allowed to start until this was finished; you've all waited 6 years for this story to finish; my other ideas could wait a month at the very least.

I do, however, have one last apology; I'm a little rusty at writing lemons. Fluffy adorable cuddling? Yeah I've got that nailed down now, but I've lost my touch on the more intense stuff, or at least I think I have; I hope you guys find it satisfying.

Enough of my prattling on, go on and enjoy the final chapter!

* * *

'Why is he all the way out here? Who's he waiting for?' Sakura wondered, shuffling slightly in her observational spot. She'd left Shikamaru with Neji and Kiba and started to loop around for a vantage point from which to watch and listen to the trio, but by the time she'd gotten downwind they'd already moved off. It had taken forever to find any of them again, and at the time Shikamaru had been heading directly for the gate, with no sign of where he'd come from nor the other two males. She was almost certain he knew something, but he clearly wasn't going to tell her or he would've blurted something out when she was trying to get something out of Neji and Kiba.

She was almost certain she'd been annoying enough to break even the bored Nara, but he'd been as unyielding as the other two. Instead she decided to follow him in the hope he'd either talk to himself, as he often did, or meet up with someone and discuss it.

'Middle of the night and he's here waiting at the gate for someone or something…but why would he come straight here after leaving them?' she pondered, glancing up at the gate once more. Someone was approaching quickly and heading directly for the snoozing Nara, and they seemed somewhat familiar…'Is that…Shino? I need to get closer.'

* * *

"Shikamaru." The voice snapped him back awake in an instant and he looked up to see the heavily clothed male he'd been waiting for. He took a moment to stretch and wake up properly before standing to greet the other male. "Shino; how was the mission?"

"Simple. How was-" Shikamaru frowned at the hesitation from the Aburame, until it finally hit him; the weird feeling he'd had since sitting down was someone watching him, and he could almost guarantee he knew who it was.

"Found out what we wanted to know; we should head away from here if we're going to talk about it." He replied, receiving a nod from the other male. He let Shino lead him away from the gate, certain the insect user had already pinpointed the pink haired pest and was moving them as far from her as he could.

Shino glanced at him sideways as they walked. "She's following."

"As she would." He muttered back.

A slight nod was all he received, and the pair sped up, forcing Sakura to do likewise and reducing her ability to stay completely silent. "We're out of earshot for the moment; what did they tell you?"

"We were right; the night Sakura saw them was just one hell of a coincidence, but there's no way they could explain it without it souding like they were lying." Shikamaru stated, sighing. "They decided faking a relationship was easier that trying to convince the girls they weren't lying, which is fair enough really. Not sure how long it'll be a lie."

"Something happened today?"

"Fake spat, Ino said we should give them time to kiss and make up. Sakura had Hinata check up on them as we were walking away and they were kissing." He informed the Aburame, who stopped and looked at him closely.

Silence surrounded them for several moments before Shino finally spoke again. "You're sure?"

"I doubt Hinata would lie, and she went red as a beetroot when she saw them. Unless she accidentally saw something equally as private that we weren't aware of, it's about the only explanation." Shikamaru sighed. "So?"

The Aburame looked over his shoulder, fixing on one tree and nodding. "Hmm….Where are they now?"

"One of the lakes north of here."

"Can't believe they're so intent on keeping up this lie."

That was all it took; a rustle and some snapping branches reached the ears both males and they smirked; Sakura had forgone all attempts at stealth the second she'd heard something to confirm her suspicions, that was the great thing about the pink haired female; she was very, _very _predictable.

Dropping back down to the ground they headed back toward the shops. "So what do you think they're up to?"

"Kiba's not great with words, Neji is. Chances are Neji's admitted his feelings verbally and Kiba's trying to show his physically." Shino stated, shaking his head. "Dinner?"

"Sure. So, when do you think Sakura's going to reach them?" Shikamaru grinned. "At the start or the end?"

"If the gods are good, she'll reach them about the halfway point. No denying it then."

"True." He was trying not to laugh at the idea; the look on Sakura's face would be absolutely priceless and he dearly wanted to see it. His stomach disagreed quite firmly; lunch had been quite a while ago and he was hungry. Besides, there were a total of seven lakes north of where they'd been, and it'd take Sakura a while to check them all. "I take it you're keeping track of Sakura?"

"Of course."

"Well then, since we're already getting dinner and we'll have plenty of time, why don't we buy that old man dinner?" Shikamaru asked, earning a glance from the Aburame.

"You mean the hobo that's always near the ramen cart?"

He rolled his eyes at the comment. "Hobo is demeaning, but yes that's the one I mean."

* * *

"I knew it!" Sakura yelled happily as she crashed off through the trees, no longer caring if either the Nara or Aburame heard her. She'd gotten what she wanted; confirmation that the relationship between Kiba and Neji was a lie. Now she just needed to go and confront them on it, and there wouldn't be a better time than right now.

She paused briefly to decide where to go first, and almost cursed her own stupidity. With how far she'd had to chase both Shikamaru and Shino, there were at least six lakes north of where they were standing. Seven, if she included the one they'd been roughly in line with. Not to mention she had to do all the searching on her own; the other girls had given up on listening to her about their relationship being fake. She had been the one to find out about it in the first place after all.

'Why did I have to open my big mouth and get Hinata to see what they were doing? If I hadn't done that they'd still doubt it; we hadn't seen anything to confirm their relationship until then. I'm so _stupid_ sometimes.' Sighing, she headed for the lake they'd been parallel to; it was as good a starting point as any.

Heading off through the trees, back in the direction of where they'd started the day, Sakura sighed; her own stubbornness was biting her in the ass and there wasn't much she could do about it.

* * *

Neji could feel his heart pounding in his throat, and he was certain it was loud enough for the Inuzuka to hear it. Almost certainly, considering how close they were; Kiba was still on top of him, his hands resting either side of the Hyuuga's head, and the bright golden eyes had captured his own. He couldn't speak; it was all he could do to stop himself from locking his legs around the younger male and pulling him into another kiss.

'I can't tell if he's just suddenly on shy or if he's waiting for something…' Conversation had stopped some time ago; every time he started trying to speak the tanned male would kiss him, either forcefully or gently, but always enough to stop him. It was strange, confusing and exciting at the same time; it was an intoxicating feel overall and he wasn't sure he wanted it to leave. He did know he didn't want to just stay lying on his back staring into the mesmerising eyes of the Inuzuka.

Kiba had been less than helpful; despite stopping his ramblings and attempts at conversation the tanned male had done next to nothing. Squirming slightly, Neji found what he did and didn't have free; Kiba's legs were between his own, his arms were free but sitting up wouldn't be possible. There was one temptation he could give in to, and while he was unsure how Kiba would react he was almost certain it'd be entertaining.

Leaning up, he pressed his lips to Kiba's and slid his hands under the male's shirt, taking advantage of the slight gasp it extracted from the male to slip his tongue into the other's mouth. He could feel the muscles beneath his fingers tense and relax slightly as his hands ran over them and further up his chest. Kiba had wrapped an arm around his shoulders, keeping them firmly entwined in the kiss and he could almost feel the Inuzuka trying to push them closer together.

It was all he could do to keep his legs against the ground at that point; it was stimulating to be in such an embrace and he wanted more. 'Stupid Inuzuka; promises more and then won't do anything.' He mentally complained, although he was having trouble remaining even slightly angry with the male; though he reasoned that was probably connected to the whole intimate embrace thing.

* * *

"Where the hell are they?" Sakura yelled, almost hitting her head against a nearby tree. Three lakes she'd visited and the pair hadn't been at any of them. 'Still, I suppose it'd be too easy for me to just find them at one of the first ones I check. They wouldn't really make it easy for me.' Sighing, she took off once more, hoping she'd find something concrete.

* * *

Kiba held back a triumphant smirk; his Hyuuga was getting impatient, so much so he'd slipped his hands beneath his shirt to try and get closer. It was enjoyable to feel Neji's warm hands against his chest and he wasn't going to lie to himself, he wanted more.

Pushing Neji flat against the ground he leant forward and kissed his way down the slender, pale neck, slipping his hands beneath the light shirt. "Ah….Kiba…" The gasping moan made him smirk; there was no denying they both wanted it and he definitely wasn't going to disappoint his Hyuuga. He was really beginning to like the sound of that; _his Hyuuga_.

Claiming the soft lips once more, he slipped his tongue into the waiting mouth, freely exploring the wet cavern. Running his tongue over Neji's seemed to spark the older male into life and they began wrestling for dominance, Kiba only winning when he snaked a hand up and pinched one of the paler male's nipples.

Breaking away from the older male, he tugged Neji's shirt free in a few swift moments, looking down at the breathless male. "No fair…" he muttered, and Kiba's smirk returned; prideful and calm though the Hyuugas might be, they had very poor control over their emotions once they were unlocked. Yanking off his own shirt he tossed it away randomly and returned his attention to Neji's neck, enjoying sweet taste against his lips.

His hands meanwhile were already moving southward, stroking and teasing the male beneath him as he slid both hands toward the waistband of Neji's pants, almost growling at his own impatience. 'We wear far too many clothes.' Kiba noted with disapproval, finally locating the edge of the offending cloth. He returned his lips to Neji's as he pulled the cloth free, stifling a groan as the older male lifted his hips to make it easier and pressing their bodies together.

Biting back his own eagerness, Kiba pulled back to look at the flushed face of the Hyuuga beneath him. In the past month he'd learnt to read Neji's pale eyes like a book, and for the first time he could see something he hadn't before; lust. It was maddening and ebbing away at his already weak resolve, and for the first time in his life Kiba cursed being an Inuzuka; he could smell everything.

Over all else, he could smell the sweat that was slowly rising on his body and everything that was contained in it; desire, impatience, lust and desperation. It was completely intoxicating, and considering that neither of them had been with _anyone_ in the past month, he didn't want to give in to instinct. The last thing he wanted was to hurt the Hyuuga.

Oh, but Neji wasn't making things easy on him; while he'd been watching Neji's eyes the coffee haired male had manoeuvred his hands down to Kiba's waistband and had finally wrestled them undone. Groaning, he pushed the Hyuuga down into a forceful kiss and ground his hips down into those of the older male, thrusting his tongue into Neji's mouth as he elicited a moan from the male.

The last shred of control left him as one of the Hyuuga's silky hands brushed against the outside of his boxers, sliding across his hardened length. Growling, he ran his hands down the pale chest and hooked the last scrap of clothing the Hyuuga had left, tugging it away without another thought. Neji gasped as the cold air struck the warmth of his body.

Eyes raked over his naked form and the Hyuuga shivered under the predatory golden gaze, unable to tear his own away as the Inuzuka deftly removed the last of his own clothes. Licking his lips, Kiba ran both hands down Neji's sides, his touches light at first until the tanned hands reached his hips. A crushing kiss smothered any complaints before they could start, and Kiba ground himself against the male's firm backside.

"Ah…Kiba…" the Hyuuga's voice was failing him and he buried a hand into the short brown hair. "Not…not so…rough…." His objection was met with a wordless growl and a further thrusting by the younger male, causing a groan from the older male, reason clearly beyond the Inuzuka for the moment.

* * *

"Oh come on…they're either playing games with me or I have the worst luck in the world." Sakura grumbled, dropping to sit under a tree. She'd checked six of the seven lakes and found no sign of the couple, meaning either Shikamaru had lied, or they were at the last one. Taking a moment to catch her breath, the pink haired woman sighed. Was being right really worth all this running around?

'Of course it is. Now, I only have one place left to check….'

* * *

He almost wished he could feel panic rising in the pit of his stomach but he wasn't quite that fortunate; all he could feel was the thrill and arousal coursing through his body at Kiba's every touch. Part of him was concerned about the pain that he'd undoubtedly get, but every time he tried to bring it up the Inuzuka would claim his lips and grind against his backside, drawing more frequent and louder moans.

It was almost too much when he felt something wet enter him; something much smaller than the throbbing length Kiba had been rubbing against him. Neji could feel his own arousal building and tried to focus more on the Inuzuka's movements, finally managing to pinpoint just what the younger male was sliding in and out of him. 'A finger…instinct might've taken over but he still doesn't want to hurt me...' He realised, moaning as another slick digit entered him.

Unable to stop himself, Neji started rocking against the fingers inside him moaning softly at the actions of the Inuzuka; the nails digging into his hip, the fingers already inside him and the mouth working softly on his neck. His own nails dug into the tanned flesh of Kiba's back and his legs wrapped tighter around the male's hips. "Gods…Kiba…more…" He could scarcely control himself as the third digit slid into his still tight entrance, gently probing and stretching it for what was to come.

A growl from Kiba was all the warning he had that the younger male was done waiting, and Neji whimpered at the loss of the digits that had been inside him. His disappointment didn't last as he felt something much bigger begging entrance, and Neji felt himself tense momentarily. 'No, you need to relax.' He mentally scolded himself, and he did his best to do just that as Kiba's throbbing length entered him.

Neji didn't have time to adjust before the Inuzuka started moving, slowly thrusting deeper and deeper into the Hyuuga's tight body, drawing louder moans and gasps from the pale male. The guttural growls and moans erupting from Kiba's throat were increasing his pleasure. Everything in the world had dissolved into nothing more than the slapping of flesh against flesh, the moans and groans emerging from their throats and the desperate clinging of the males to one another.

The sliver of pain that'd been buried in the back of his mind was gone, replaced by an almost indescribable pleasure, and Kiba's movements became much more fluid than they'd previously been. Part of him wanted to question that, but the continual rocking was for too enjoyable and he wanted _more. _The Inuzuka's grip tightened on his hips, and Neji kept a firm grasp on the younger male as he started slightly changing his angle of entry, earning small moans from the Hyuuga.

He felt himself grip tighter to the male as his back arched, an intense symphony of pleasure streaking through his body as the Inuzuka struck something inside him. He felt the nails digging into his hips release and adjust slightly before Kiba thrust in once more, Neji unable to quieten the moan it drew from his throat. The rest of the world dissolved and the only thing he could feel was the tanned male on top of him, driving him further and further into maddening pleasure.

Neji felt the grass against his back as he lost his grip on Kiba's shoulders, the Inuzuka's forceful and desperate thrusts stealing away any shred of control he might've had left. The hands left his hips and the Hyuuga felt a warm friction against his own hardened length, and he realised Kiba was all but lying atop him as he continued to plunge deeper into Neji's warm, tight body.

It was growing to be overwhelming in combination; the Inuzuka's thrusts and strokes, the feel of their bodies so close and the sweat that was already drenching their skin. Neji could feel his throat growing sore, hoarse from moaning and wordless muttering at Kiba's ministrations. "Gods….Kiba….ah…don't…don't stop…." He begged, and the younger male seemed to take that as an instruction to speed up, licking and biting at Neji's neck.

"Ah…Neji…so good…" Kiba growled back, and Neji could feel his own end rapidly approaching. It seemed the Inuzuka could feel it too; his movements had sped up and it seemed almost like an eternity. He felt his whole body tense and a cry of pleasure escape his throat as Kiba finally coaxed out his climax, the younger male emitting a noise somewhere between a growl and a moan. It took a moment for the dizzying, overwhelming sensation to subside long enough for Neji to notice he couldn't really see; specks of light dancing in front of his eyes.

He could hear panting, but couldn't really tell if it was his own or Kiba's, and he realised he didn't care. Kiba was his; he could fell every inch of the Inuzuka's toned frame pressing down on him and he loved the feel more than anything. Familiar golden eyes swam into view and smiled, still high on his own orgasm.

"Neji, I love you." The tanned male stated softly, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against the pale one of his lover.

"I love you too, Kiba."

* * *

"You sure she's headed this way?" Shikamaru asked gently, looking sideways at his companion. The stoic male nodded and motioned for the Nara to be quiet. They'd finished dinner and set themselves up in, what the Aburame claimed, Sakura's path. It was the shortest distance between her own house and the last lake she was supposedly checking, so it made sense, but they'd yet to see any sign of the woman.

That changed quickly as crashing and thrashing met their ears; the sounds of someone desperate to escape some unseen predator or danger. A blur of pink and red passed by beneath them and the Nara stifled a laugh.

"Was that Sakura or a tomato?"

"Sakura I think, unless you know of tomatoes with pink hair."

Shikamaru couldn't help himself as he started laughing, shaking his head. "I guess she caught them in the middle of it this time."

"So it would seem. Good to know those two have stopped dancing around their emotions; it was getting painful to watch." Shino agreed, jumping down and walking lazily back toward the village.

Shikamaru smirked at the comment. "You're right about that; for a pair of fairly intelligent ninja they're idiots when it comes to noticing some things."


End file.
